South Ledge - Song Lyrics from the 90's

Song Lyrics from the 90's. I wrote this after reading a story in Smithsonian about an island off the coast of Massachusetts I think....I imagined myself being there sitting on the ledge in the picture of the wall that surrounded a lighthouse. 

SOUTH LEDGE

Lyrics by Julie Gengo

A picket fence

A daisy chain

We walk on through

In a dream

Your hand to touch

A masquerade

Of the same old scene

(Chorus)

But now

Just you and me

We’re sitting here

Watching the sky go by

On our south ledge

The world stands still

And the angels wait

For the by and by

For the by and by

This old place

Still remains

Somewhere sits

In my dreams

You said so much

I remember now

My memory

Has consumed me

(Chorus x2)

But now

Just you and me

We’re sitting here

Watching the sky go by

On our south ledge

The world stands still

And the angels wait

For the by and by

For the by and by

Ode to 976

Written circa 1998 in Pacific Beach, CA at a wonderful cafe called 976. I think it's still there....

Ode to 976

by Julie Gengo

In the midst of madness

I stop to shudder

What wonders beneath

The bread and butter

All lies on tables

So taught and clever

In morning arise

The first endeavor

To unite the airy wisps of rain

With roots that bring

The first of Spring

In red & orange

& violet-blue

All eyes amazed

Upon the hues

As passion flows

Between the feet

In droves of tantalizing

Feasts

That rests inside

This field of dreams

Surrounded by

Bright color schemes

That you or I

Had nothing to do

Except to marvel

At the view

& the lips of lips

So succulent

& the bells that ring

In unison

& blades that tickle

The best of men

Save but a minute

To embellish them

As sensuous

As the river let

& storms that come

Without regret

A serenity

Not to forget

This Spring that brings

All happiness

SWEEPING AWAY DEBRIS FROM EXCERPTS OF HAPPINESS

Written sometime in 2009 in Cardiff by the Sea, CA on Cambridge Street to be exact. Ocean view....

SWEEPING AWAY DEBRIS FROM EXCERPTS OF HAPPINESS

Julie Gengo 

Sweeping away debris from excerpts of happiness

Past experience plays note to moments of now

All the while tripped up by images of incompetence

Holding on to a dream and reasons why

Like trying to catch raindrops on your tongue

One by one

Where to now?

A harbor of pieces of not wanting to do this

Acceptance feels like being stranded in desert sands

Under scorching rays of energy

Hope sinks asunder

Where rainbows exist only in the oasis of the mind

The trees lend unwitting solace between branches

And leaves flicker bouncing light through window pains

Glass separates the colors of wash-away footprints

Stuck in stone

Over time

And Now is diminished as angels flee

So fast

So vigorous

Their ephemeral nature dissolved forever

Sometimes you look up

The sky begins to show signs of surrender

To circumstance and reason

Why we hold on to these days

Is blistering thunder on its last clash?

A serenity of where we need to be

Time - Song Lyrics from the 90s

Time

By Julie Gengo

Time, few moments in which I distinguish

Time, of destinies half made

Time, in the echo I relinquish

Time, thoughts slip and fade

Time, in the amount of time that it takes to rearrange

The words on this page

Time, I could be gone forever

Oh Time, before thee I pray

White linen strew across the floor

Invading my mind

The less there is the want is more

Measuring our measuring our

Time, I savor not this moment passing

Time, such a disgrace

Time, wish it away forever

Time, so many mistakes

White linen seems to suffocate me

Invading my space

Oh how it seems to confiscate me

So many so many

Mistakes

Where are we without our savior?

Disgrace

I could be gone be gone forever

Oh time

White linen strew across the floor

Invading my mind

The less there is the want is more

Until the end, until the end, until the end of, until the end of

Time

Oh time

My time

Oh time

Solitude

Another short poem written some time in 2012

Solitude 

by Julie Gengo

celebrating solitude in the midst of forgiveness

sleepy eyes close as the voices continue

blessed by the riles of willfulness

and sanctity of corners where pockets bear abundance

Jeremy and Beatrix by Julie Gengo

Here's another one from a few years back....I wonder what I was thinking back then and who about???? Enjoy...Listening to Parquet Courts while I post this....

Jeremy and Beatrix

By Julie Gengo

As she usually does on Saturday morning, Beatrix was pulling up the weeds with vigor. She liked to make a contest of it all, challenging herself to uproot an entire section with one try. This made her happy and at times, prompted her to shout “YES” out loud.

This time, her yes was particularly loud, so loud that it caught the attention of an unexpected visitor.

“I heard that,” Jeremy said as he turned around to say hello.

“Hello. It's Beatrix isn't it?” he shouted back as he leaned his bike against the fence that encapsulated her garden from the rest of the world.

“Hi,” she said as she peered up from the brim of her hat. “What can I do for you?”

“I was just on my way to town to pick up some tickets for this band that I hear is really fantastic when I heard you shout. I thought you might need some assistance.”

He didn't wait for her to reply. “I'm Jeremy and it's lovely to meet you,” he said as he peered over the fence, closer to where she was working. Jeremy had wanted to do that for quite some time, but his nerve always got the best of him.

In a normal day, he just looked up and smiled as he passed by, but today was anything but normal. He had woken up with a good feeling about everything. There was a buzz in the air that warmed his fingers, turned off his doubt, and kept him from riding on.

“Can I come in?” he said, without hesitation.

“Yes, by all means, she said, "but no, I'm fine.”

Beatrix stood up, wiped her hands on her dress and reached out to shake his.

“Town? Aren't you taking the long route?” she said.

Beatrix was curious. She had seen him before, passing by on this bike. He always seemed to be smiling. She liked the idea of smiling back but usually just kept on gardening as if she didn't notice.

“Well, it's more scenic this way and besides I was interested in what you were growing there next to that bunch with the small white flowers,” he said.

“Turnips,” she replied.

Beatrix had a thing for turnips. Their round onion like body had a splendor that made her happy and they also worked well in her soups.

“Perhaps you would like to try some sometime? Turnips make my soups a bit sassy,” she said as she smiled.

“Okay then.” Jeremy lifted his eyebrows in anticipation. He liked the idea of soup with turnips, but her words took him by surprise. After all, she had always been a mystery. He imagined her to be rather reserved and he thought she was pretty, yet completely unknown.

“Can I call you B?” He said.

“You can, if you like,” she said. “I mean not to be rude, but Beatrix must remind you of...” She interrupted. “The Potter stories? Well it’s not like I have friends that are mice running around and a pet rabbit named Peter. The cat takes care of the mice and...well.” Beatrix laughed. Jeremy amused her.

Jeremy on the other hand felt very stupid for ever bringing up the subject. His words were losing their way and his face turned a blush rose that matched the flowers behind her.

He did muster up enough of whatever it is he needed to ask Beatrix to join him to see the band that was playing the following week. She thought about it for a moment and told him she would think about it and let him know soon. “I have to check with Mrs. Puddle Duck to see if she can keep an eye on the soup,” she giggled.

“Super," Jeremy said as he hid his face in his hands. "I'll pop 'round in a few days.” He then made his way down the road and in a few moments he was out of sight. The idea of turnip soup and Beatrix kept him smiling the entire way into town. 

Other People's Wishes - by Julie Gengo

Artwork by Blu Gengo

It's been a while since my last post. This is a flash piece from a few years ago. I'm working on a new series about music and some new lyrics with vocal melodies that you'll have to imagine, I imagine.....stay tuned....

OTHER PEOPLE'S WISHES

With no commitments, meetings or appointments pending, Celia slipped into the park through the side entrance. Clouds were meeting in anger. Carefully choosing a time when strollers were off to indulge in lunch, and lovers too consumed to notice, she sat down on the edge of the fountain and paused. The cherubs were smiling as she dipped her hand into the brisk water. The wind tensed her body.  She could feel the chill rising up her dress.

Celia took a long, full breath, then reached in. Her slender fingers moved toward a penny. She clasped it in her palm, moved her hand out of the water, then up to her ear. She closed her eyes.

This penny spoke to her as they always do – others people's wishes echoing in her head. Some reeked of love and marriage while some resembled a desire for someone or something to work out.

She remembers one coin, a penny from 1983 that was embedded with a double request. A precocious boy who lost his father to a strange disease wanted a replacement – a dad who would take him to the park and play with his other request – a dog. A dog with no specific measurements or color or any distinctive markings. Just a dog.

His mother couldn't afford a dog now that her husband wasn't there to make things work out, the way they used to. Her lifeless job also came without enough money for the two of them, and a dog to live on. All of this in a city where people move in circles that are closed and void of sensation.

Another wish she remembered was from a tall thin man who yearned for his long lost love to reemerge and walk into his arms; the place he thought she belonged. She left him for another man who had a direct path to a prestigious future; a man who wouldn't take no for an answer. The moment the other man saw her, he couldn't let go and did whatever it took to claim her even at the expense of another's heart.

This other man didn't care that she was involved with the tall thin man, and she, she was caught up in the whirlwind of life. For her, it was the easy thing to do.

The tall thin man thought he would grow old with her as that is what she said while lying next to him, one night, when her supple rose-colored body was pressed against his in a small bed that barely fit the two. The tall thin man was now growing old with another woman; a woman who wouldn't take no for an answer.

Today the wish caught Celia off guard. It came from a shinny penny so new that she turned her head to see if the wisher was still around. A splash of light emerged from the clouds. This didn't distract her. She listened closely. This wish was different. Instead of hearing the wish directly from the wisher, she felt its violent nature; as if she were struck down by a dagger. She saw a women scurrying for her life. She thought she was seeing something that may not have happened yet. Her hands began to shake. She felt helpless, as though life was fleeing and she couldn’t catch hold of it.

Celia knew the woman was in a hopeless situation and for the first time, she added on to the wish in an effort to double its strength. She wished that the women would be cleared from danger and the attacker removed from her life. She wished hard and threw it back into the water then walked away in silence as the clouds began to part. Hints of sunshine followed her. She looked up and smiled.