In Dreams of Mine

Soft in essence purity came to me in blissful dream
And bade me follow sleepily to sights we few have never seen
I dropped down to join her view and fit quite well her feline saunter
In rings and echoes past we two, a singsong call did beckon her

And with her heart she looked at me and saw me as a fellow being
It seemed she was about to speak of other worlds and times

Further on we made our way to a bright and shining chamber
Where others greeted gracefully and bowed to her with royal charm
And then the group began to dance to a distant melody
And when I did awake at last she lay sleeping next to me

And with her heart she looked at me and saw me as a fellow being
It seemed she was about to speak of other worlds and times
And in her eyes that gaze forever is the deepest understanding
Of a long forgotten queen in these dreams of mine

And I often ponder who she may really be
The soul of someone once close to me
In these dreams of mine
In these dreams of mine

 There was a friend upon whom once Nature played her joke  

 She gave him width instead of height  
and hands too large for chivalry  
A strength of body quite too great  
to satisfy a soul that craved aesthetic light  

 She must have smiled when in that frame  
Was placed a heart so delicate  
For it would vibrate melody  
Until her artifice produced wild rhapsody  

 With eyes that sought insatiably  
The harmonies of life he found  
But discord and a dark despair  
And so the jest so well conceived turned tragedy  

 The spirit tired and sought release  

Frater Ave Atque Vale  
(Words written by Tennyson, 1883)  

 Row us out to Desenzano, to your Sirmione row  
So they rowed, and there we landed O Venusta Sirmio  
There to me through all the groves of olive in the summer glow  
There beneath the Roman ruin where the purple flowers grow  
Came that Ave atque Vale of the poet's hopeless woe  
Tenderest of Roman poets nineteen hundred years ago  
Frater Ave atque Vale as we wandered to and fro  
Gazing at the Lydian laughter of the garda Lake below  
Sweet Catullus' all-but-island, olive silvery Sirmio  

A Winter Wassail  
(Traditional English song, Reworked by Faith and the Muse)

 Wassail Wassail; All merit good cheer  
We wish thee dear faithful a wondrous New Year  
Our fine bowl is made of the white maple tree  
With the Wassailing bowl we honor thee  

 So here by the fire good spirits renewed  
We wish thee dear faithful: thy dreams may come true  
As white snow doth fall o'er the old willow tree  
Wassail Wassail; We honor thee  

 So come all young maidens and join us in song  
For this is the season warm love need hold strong  
The cold wind doth blow o'er the elderwood tree  
Wassail Wassail; We honor thee

Cast us out We don't belong there
Powerless such earth-mingled minds
Innocence: Neglected child
Happiest in endless sky

Sleep fire, sleep fire This is where we exist
Sleep child, sleep child In the breath of a kiss

Innocence: Neglected child
Happiest in endless sky

Drown
Words by Monica Richards, 1991

Fingers hear whispers I blindly reach for you only for you
I hold it close to my breath Your sustenance Your goodby kiss
But you won't live without me

Moon-soaked rising waters carry my love to you
So calm the sea you succumb to me Floating into my arms
I hold it close to my breath Your sustenance Your goodby kiss
But you won't survive without me because I gave you my heart

Soft I wait each night I remember the thought of your skin
The touch of your voice whispering my name Why did we drift apart
I hold it close to my breath Your sustenance Your goodby kiss
But you I can't live without you because I gave you my heart

The Bird
Words by Monica Richards, 1997

I am a thousand faces and one unwavering smile...

There are dreams of flight
and upon awakening
I have sworn to myself that I felt the physical
Rise and Fall:
the wind whipping past my ankles
and through my fingers,
For seconds I am above the clouds
Sailing effortlessly across a field of beckoning white;
All around me endless sky
and below me
the inevitable return.
I have no wings.
There are times that I do not need them.