I’m here to love, love as much as I can,
To love every child, every woman and man
To love every creature—furred, feathered, or finned.
Love those who have hurt me, as if they were friend.
(Chorus)
Yes, I’m here to love,
I’m here to love,
I’m here to love,
I’m here to love.
Yes, I’m here to love, in every season,
Love without judgment, criteria, or reason.
Love when my heart’s heavy, as if it were light,
Love without question of who’s wrong or right.
(Chorus)
Yes, I’m here to love, even when that seems hard—
Love myself and others, love as if I were God.
Love freely like water, like the air and the sun,
And like Mother Earth—giving to everyone.
(Chorus)
Every shadow, every triumph,
Everything I am,
Every learning, every journey,
Every part of the plan.
Every answer to every question
Love is the answer, no matter the question,
Love is the answer, the answer is love.
Love is the essence of every being,
Love is the essence, the essence is love
(Chorus)
My motor wouldn’t turn over one morning—thought the battery must be dead.
My motor wouldn’t turn over that morning—thought perhaps that trusty Die Hard® had gone dead.
So I called out to my baby, and this is what that good man said:
He said, “Honey, you need a jumpstart, and I know just what to do.
All you need is a little jumpstart, and I know just what to do.
Got my booster cables ready, and, darling, I can do that for you.”
So he hooked up the cables, and he turned on the juice.
My engine turned over, but then I wouldn’t let that man loose.
No, no, no, no, no, I swore to God I’d never be one of those fools,
no, no, no. Like my mama used to exclaim, “God bless the man who knows how to use his tools!”
Well, now every single morning, whether I need to or not,
I ask that man for a jumpstart, and, m-m-m-m, do our motors get hot.
Oh-oh-oh-oh, I don’t need no champagne nor jewels,
no, no, no! No, I don’t need nothin’ fancy; just a good man who knows how to use his tools.
(Instrumental)
And, like my mama before me,
I say, “God bless the man who knows how to use,
God, bless the man who knows how to use,
God bless the man who knows how to use his tools. Amen!”
Under a jacaranda canopy, my sweetheart danced with me.
There was no band, so we made our own tune.
With a purple-blossomed melody, heartbeats in harmony,
We waltzed to the first-quarter moon.
Two hearts, one thought: “For better, for worse—yes is my answer.
Whatever love asks, yes is the answer I give.”
Under a jacaranda canopy, my sweetheart married me.
The moon was as full as the joy that we shared.
As we waltzed among the wedding guests, we’d never felt so blessed
Nor awed by the promise we’d dared.
Two hearts, one thought: “For richer, for poorer—yes is my answer.
Whatever love asks, yes is the answer I give.”
(Instrumental)
Two hearts, one thought: “In sickness, in health—yes is my answer.
Whatever love asks, yes is the answer I give.”
Every June on our anniversary, we plant jacaranda trees.
Reminded that life passes by all too soon,
We forgive all our mistakes and faults, take an impromptu waltz
And embrace to the smile of the moon.
Two hearts, one thought: “Until death parts us—yes is my answer.
Whatever love asks, yes is the answer I give.”
Two hearts, one thought: “Death cannot part us—yes is my answer.
Whatever love asks, yes is the answer I give.”
(Chorus)
Oh, You Who Breathe Me,
You Who Give Me Breath,
Teach me to be the perfect lover,
Teach me to love like Death.
For Death never finds us unworthy,
Or holds back ‘til our sins are atoned.
No, Death simply opens accepting arms,
Inviting us back home.
(Chorus)
For Death never draws a distinction
On color, appearance, or creed.
Death remains ready, when timing is right,
To give each of us what we need.
(Chorus)
For Death is not fooled by the body,
Death knows who we really are.
Death sees the radiant beauty within us
And frees that bright spirit to soar.
(Chorus)
Now, Death never comes as a stranger –
Death served as midwife at birth.
Death walks beside us to lovingly guide us
To treasure each day on earth.
(Chorus)
Teach me to love, teach me to love,
Teach me to love like Death.
(Godmother:)
What a pleasure, what a privilege, to be here at the birth of a child.
Candles shimmer ‘round the birthpool, lighting faces wreathed with smiles.
In fairy tales the godmother has some wisdom to impart—
I just want this precious baby to know our love right from the start.
Once the journey got started, the call was sent out to attend,
And we’ve gathered from both realms—guardians, midwives, and friends.
Every child brings a gift to share; we’re here to help this one bloom.
Now the dawn’s light is brightened as radiance fills up the room.
(Chorus)
Tiny Marisol slides into the water,
Fresh from the Heavens, a beautiful daughter.
We sing “alleluias” to welcome her birth,
To bless her and celebrate the blessings she brings to this earth.
(Father:)
It’s so hard to just stand by, knowing my wife is in pain.
Yet she’s fierce as a warrior, even sometimes appearing serene.
Then the miracle hits me, as I watch our baby’s head crown,
And I find myself sobbing out loud, with tears streaming down.
(Chorus)
(Mother:)
Oh, the wait’s almost over; contractions are steady and strong.
And I’ll soon see the face of this child that I’ve carried so long.
The ancestors breathe with me, helping to open the gates.
One more push and our two bodies, joined these nine months, separate.
(Chorus)
(All:)
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, our Marisol.
I’m heading cross-country on a red-eye flight; I left as soon as I got the call.
No one knows if you’ll live through the night or whether you’ll know me at all.
All around me passengers are sleeping, while I do my best to keep from weeping.
Though you carried me underneath your heart, a Grand Canyon keeps us apart.
(Chorus)
And my tears flow down like water—
I can’t be the kind of daughter that you wanted;
I can only give you my love.
I stand by your bedside, holding your hand, relieved to hear you call out my name.
I watch you struggle to understand what’s happened and just why I came.
Though I work with words for a living, I hope my eyes and hands will do all the giving.
We’ve no history of speaking from the heart; in this moment, I have no place to start.
(Chorus)
No, I gave you no fancy wedding to plan,
no son-in-law to be your handyman,
no cherub children to call you grandmother—
my destiny led me down other roads.
If this were a movie, we’d be at the scene where everyone lets go of the past.
We’d drop our insistence on what should have been and treasure each other at last.
Instead, our gift, in these months as you recover, is time and hope for what we might discover,
As we’re granted yet another chance to master this Mother/Daughter Dance.
And my tears flow down like water—
Though I’m not the kind of daughter that you wanted,
Won’t you let me, won’t you let me give you my love?
It’s the day before Christmas vacation, family funds are runnin’ tight—
My husband’s unemployed right now, not another job in sight.
We just replaced our daughter’s retainer she’d left at the house of a friend—
Their dog went and chewed it so she couldn’t use it—we don’t have those dollars to spend.
And now she comes home from school and tells me her new retainer is gone for good;
She thinks it’s mixed in with the trash of the school cafeteria food
I may be…
(Chorus)
A Dumpster-Divin’ Mama, decked out in yellow rubber gloves, (Go, mama, dive, dive mama)
A Dumpster-Divin’ Mama, all decked out in yellow rubber gloves. (Go, mama, dive, dive mama)
Can’t believe the things I do, can’t believe what I go through,
All in the name of motherly love.
Orthodontia’s a major investment, one that we can’t afford to lose.
Buy a new retainer or Christmas presents—now, what’s a mother to choose?
I make my decision without any thought to be dignified or cool—
I pack up my Rubbermaid® gloves and my daughter and head for the neighborhood school.
We’re in luck that the garbage has not been collected; the dumpster is filled to the brim.
I pull on my gloves, prop open the lid, and hoist myself onto the rim.
Now I’m…
(Chorus)
I’m diggin’ through turkey and mashed potatoes, great slimy gobs of cranberry sauce,
Green salad and gravy and butter and rolls—can’t believe all the food these kids toss.
I’m rippin’ and rippin’ through sack after sack, my derriere catchin’ the breeze,
But I’m not givin’ up ‘til I get that thing back, and I couldn’t care less who sees.
I finally jump down inside of the dumpster when our chances seem smaller than small.
Then, “Eureka, I’ve found it!”—still wrapped in the napkin—we’ll have Christmas after all.
‘Cause I’m…
(Chorus)
Can’t believe the things I do, can’t believe what I go through,
All in the name of motherly love. (Go, mama…)
Peace by Peace
(Note: This song is inspired by and dedicated to the organization Peace X Peace.)
(Chorus)
Person by person,
Circle by circle,
Heart to heart,
Peace by peace.
No matter how troubled things seem,
We’re not giving in to despair.
We’re living the question of how to live Peace,
Of how to help Love dispel fear.
(Chorus)
The frontlines begin in our hearts,
Our homes, and the lands where we live.
As two or more gather and listen within,
Peace shows us what we have to give.
(Chorus)
It’s more than the absence of war.
It’s more than the treaties we sign.
It’s drawing the circle to hold everyone
And taking your family as mine.
(Chorus)
I still remember the day,
I still remember the wonder and joy,
When the doctor confirmed what I’d dreamed—
I was carrying both a girl and a boy.
And your father and I and all of our friends
Were so happy that you had each other,
To journey together through birth and beyond
The special bond of twin sister and brother.
(Chorus)
Sarah Grace, I see your face,
Your tiny body that never drew breath on its own.
Though you left our world, you’re still our little girl,
Our dear daughter, still loved, still unknown.
We’ll never know what went wrong.
We’ll never know why your heart ceased to beat.
We’ll never know why you couldn’t stay
To make our new family complete.
And your father and I and all of our friends
Scarcely knew how to hold both emotions—
For your brother, a joy as bright as the sun,
And, for you, grief as deep as the oceans.
(Chorus)
As I watch your brother grow tall,
I wonder what you would be like today.
And are you now another mother’s child
Or are you still with us in some unseen way?
And your father and I and all of our friends
Celebrate one birthday each November.
Then I walk on the beach where we scattered your ashes,
And, yes, Sarah Grace, I remember.
(Chorus)
Sarah Grace, I see your face.
Young Stefan McGeffen lay down upon his bed.
Young Stefan McGeffen laid down his weary head.
Young Stefan McGeffen, he closed his sleepy eyes
And went off to play in the Land of Surprise.
He swam in a lake topped with chocolate cake.
He saved a jeweled fish, who then granted his wish.
He made friends with seagulls, who taught him to fly,
And their laughter made rainbows that filled up the sky.
He sailed to the moon in a yellow balloon.
He danced with a cat in a fancy red hat.
He sang songs with angels all through the night,
And returned to his bed with the first morning’s light.
Now Stefan McGeffen looks forward to sleep,
To the journeys he’ll take and the company he’ll keep.
He joyously slides into Dreamtime’s embrace
And awakens each morning, a smile on his face.
(Chorus)
Just as the heavens would not be complete
Without stars and the moon and the sun,
The earth without you would not be half so sweet
And God’s work could not be done,
No, God’s work could not be done.
Without you the puzzle would be missing a piece,
The tapestry missing a thread,
The gifts that are yours would remain unexpressed,
Your wisdom would go unsaid,
Yes, your wisdom would go unsaid.
(Chorus)
For, just like a snowflake, you’re one of a kind,
An original, exquisite design,
And if you hold back the light of your soul
This planet’s true brilliance can’t shine,
No, this planet’s true brilliance won’t shine.
You are the one; you are the one.
Yes, you are the only one
Who can give what you came to give.
And whenever you let yourself love and be loved,
When joy sets your spirit on fire,
When you take delight in this glorious world
You fulfill God’s deepest desire,
Yes, you honor God’s deepest desire.
And just as the heavens are only complete
Because of stars and the moon and the sun
Your presence on earth makes this life oh so sweet
And allows God’s work to be done.
Yes, God’s work is now being done.
You are the one. Yes, you are the one.
She Rises
(Note: The chorus is based, with permission, on a poem by Patricia Smith Melton.)
A woman hears a calling – she must leave her quiet life
And take on a new adventure beyond mother, beyond wife.
She fears that her gifts are too small; she feels so unprepared;
She wishes the task could be given to someone who isn’t so scared.
(Chorus)
Yet, she rises, she rises, she rises to her full self,
To her astonishment, to the astonishment of others.
She places her future into her own hands
And drinks from that cup.
The woman gathers courage from The Ones Who’ve Gone Before,
Gathers women in a circle to invoke the Power of More.
Together they drum away doubts, together they tap the Great Field,
Together they call in the song of the Source, and in time the path is revealed.
(Chorus)
The woman keeps on taking each step as it is shown.
Though she knows not where it’s leading, she knows she’s not alone.
A breeze seems to open each door, a current speeds her downstream,
And soon she finds she’s created a work far beyond the size of her dreams.
(Chorus)
A woman hears a calling… She rises
A woman hears a calling… She rises
A woman hears a calling… She rises
A woman hears a calling… She rises