Step Into The Light
Written after three death-bed vigils in five years and the choices made to let loved ones go…
Step Into the Light
I hear the skip-rope beat of another failing heart
and she’s calling me from a world away
and the first step is such a perfect place to start…
So I lay her down as blackbirds sing
her soul as fragile as an insect wing
she’s drifting through the endless night
she takes my hand to step into the light
into the light…
she steps into the light…
into the light…
no more sorrow – she’s taking flight
she takes my hand and steps into the light…
into the light…
——————————————————
On every road there stands a priest
and a raven sits upon his outstretched wrist
then flies above all the endless cars
where Lao-tse’s butterflies
are yearning and learning and turning into stars
dim and distant stars…
——————————————————
solo
——————————————————
No more speaking in tongues
no more being lost for words
close your penny-weighted eyes
let the ferryman take his prize
take my hand and step into the light
step into the light
into the light
into the light
take my hand and step into the light
into the light
into the light.
(c) 2016 All words, music and instruments by Paul D E Mitchell. Copyright PRS protected
Mitch: yes, a song. i would think that it needs the music to bring it to fullness, but i can see where it could have an ethereal quality. nice work. Swep
Thanks, Swep – it meant a lot to me and it was fitted to music… Mitch
Hi Mitch,
Howlz to you for all you have done and do for others. Do we still have a section for lyrics?
Been so pre-occupied that I have not noticed but I think we should. They are poetry in motion and of course often a slightly different way of reading. I was very moved by this.
I always think it is the greatest honour in this life, to be there for someone as they “step into the light”.
The most humbling experience, the most painfully beautiful experience too.
Alison x
Hi Alison – I have been on vigils three times for relatives and made that ‘happy drip’ decision three times too. But on all three times, even though they were unconscious, I went home exhausted and on all three occasions the phone was ringing as I entered the house to tell me they’d passed away minutes after I’d left but I liked to think they’d stepped into the light while I was there. The nurses told me that this was common – that many somehow know you were in the room and prefer to pass alone. Humbling indeed – which… Read more »
Experimenting with the annotation feature on your piece a bit, Mitch! It’s still quite a bit of a fiddle for me, but hope you’ll be able to see and read the ‘side’ note or two. Failing all else, click on any highlighted part. That should bring up my two cents worth! Very effective write and composition. The repeated ‘into the light’ is wonderfully uplifting/inspiring. I like the whole in this sense. It works, and very well. Have to comment on your voice, which of course adds a dramatic dimension to a reader’s/listener’s understanding of what you are trying to get… Read more »
Thanks, Bel. Sorry for the delay – see PM. I do some talkie stuff – see the UKArchive or http://www.reverbnation.com/pauldemitchell. I will update abnd post them here as time progresses and workload allows! Thank you for your kind words about my voice – I am 60 this year and a very, very late developer! The new album is stretching me in vocal range but I have yet to mix it down but when I have there will be an explosion of stuff. Repetition in lyrics is a common tool though a lot of songwriters use it to plug gaps in… Read more »
Mitch, seems I’m the only one on WABD to attempt learning how to use the editing tool – the note/annotation side bar. It was pretty baffling to me too, and still is because I often fail to get it right! I can see the yellow highlighted text, but maybe you can’t? In any case the key is to click on that OR the little arrow < in the white box at the top right of this page. Those three boxes in the right upper corner are the tools for this editing feature/process. The arrow < opens and closes the side… Read more »
Thanks, Bel. I am starting to earn from the novels. Not a lot but enough to feel like an author!
That’s beautiful
Thanks, Gezz, appreciated. Been off the site a while due to ill health but bouncing back soon.