Folk lyrics

I’m living a double life since you went away
Every night I drink you away but yet you stay
Your ghost shows up more with every spirit that I drink
I wish I could be more like what you want instead I think

Think about all the things I used to be for you,
How what I gave was more than what you could imagine to be true
But maybe I could never get the gig at all
Because every time I did for you, you only waited for the fall

Everyone says I’ve made up what we really were
Says you were nothing but a roadblock I just needed to clear
It’s so easy letting go, when you’re not the one to fall
Maybe that’s why they warn you not to risk it all

Think about all the things I used to be for you,
How what I gave was more than what you could imagine to be true
But maybe I could never get the gig at all
Because every time I did for you, you only waited for the fall

Every night I’ll try to use the drink to cure the pain,
and every morning I’ll pretend that everything’s okay,
but a hopeless case I know is all I’ve ever been, my heart in your hands and I’m begging you to win
And loving you is like a story that will never end.

Think about all the things I used to be for you,
How what I gave was more than what you could imagine to be true
But maybe I could never get the gig at all
Because every time I did for you, you only waited for the fall

I guess it’s my mistake for having ever loved at all.

if you think you can compose the bluegrass music for this one? let me know so I can mark off the list of thosed already or in the works of being composed and recorded

"Poison Kisses"

I wanted you so badly
my heart accepts your lies
but then my mind keeps tellin me
it's time for our goodbye

(chorus)
Poi-son kis-ses tainted by deceit
I get a dose everytime our 2 lips meet
You're wantin my true love but yours always misses
ev'rytime we kiss I taste those poison kisses

Who'll be foolin who
if I look the other way
then we hug and kiss again
and my heart has to pay....for those

(chorus)
Poi-son kis-ses tainted by deceit
I get a dose everytime our 2 lips meet
You're wantin my true love but yours always misses
ev'rytime we kiss I taste those poison kisses

******instrument breaks*****

I use to feel the urges
when our lips would meet
now there's only(a) coldness
where there once was fiery heat

(chorus)
Poison kisses tainted by deceit
ev'rytime I get a dose when our 2 lips meet
You're wantin my true love but yours always misses
ev'rytime we kiss I taste those poison kisses

(bridge)
Somewhere in the poison(passion) there lies an antidote,
I just have to find it or give up my hope, ..... to those


(chorus)
Poi-son kis-ses tainted by deceit
I get a dose everytime our 2 lips meet
You're wantin my true love but yours always misses
ev'rytime we kiss I taste those poison kisses


Copyright © "Poison Kisses" 4-28-09 by Gary D. Gray All Rights Reserved

Candles in the window
There was silence in the air
A young girl cries out
In the middle of the prayer

Her father returned home
With medals on his chest
His body cold and lifeless
Along with all the rest

Another fallen soldier
Struck down by a shell
Another shattered home
Descended into hell

Her mum consoles her
She tries her very best
But her daughter knows
She's now fatherless.

She had so much to tell him
About when he was gone
Her mother holds her tightly
Telling her to be strong

She can't understand
Why he went to war
What was the cause?
What was it all for?

Her father returned home
With medals on his chest
His body cold and lifeless
Along with all the rest

Another fallen soldier
Struck down by a shell
Another shattered home
Another sad farewell

Feelings overwhelm her
She can hardly believe
Her chest it tightens
Now, she can hardly breathe

She stands up at the coffin
Tears rolling down her face
She looks down at her father
Knowing he can't be replaced

Her father returned home
With medals on his chest
His memory will live on
But he'll forever be laid to rest

When I feel inspiration from inside
My heart does the talking speaking the words
Writing them down is not a matter of pride
The feeling I get taking flight like birds

Songbirds call no words but a song
Beautiful sounds only words can describe
There is no right and there is no wrong
Jotting my thoughts and feeling the vibe

While I create a rhyme with no reason
Thoughts with emotions as the words just flow
Day by day, from season to season
Each lyric I write I hereby bestow

The words all come from high above
I’m just a vessel with a message to give
Intending to bring out the peace and love
So, we can enjoy the lives we live

Anybody can write a lyric
Write what you feel from deep within
Keep silent as you listen to your spirit
Some may distract you but never give in

Many great poets have come and gone
Helped shape this world in their own way
Some were put to melodies in a song
But all sent a message in what they had to say

Never read a lyric that I disliked
Even when I did not agree
Always been that way since I was a tyke
It all began with Kilmer’s tree

I am a lyricist with such a passion
Hoping inspirations never cease
It’s not about glitz or what’s in fashion
It’s all about bringing love and peace

It's been three weeks
Since you left me
Things have gotten worse
Another sleepless night
Feels like I've been cursed.

Like a candle without a flame
I'm just sitting collecting dust
And I know it's all my fault
I betrayed your trust.

Ever since you left me
This world seems so black
And I know you can't help me
But I just want you back

I fall to my knees
Calling out your name
Knowing that my life
Will never be the same

Like a raging hurricane
You charged out that door
And left everything we had
Strewn across the floor

Ever since you left me
This world seems so black
And I know you can't help me
But I just want you back

I've had plenty time to think
And it's driving me demented
If I hadn't taken all that drink
This could have been prevented.

I'm not saying we can fix it
I just want you to know
I'll be sorry til the day I die
That I ever let you go.

Ever since you left me
This world seems so black
And I know you can't help me
But I just want you back

I just want you back

“I am an American”
Words by Kerry Mark Blackman

I am
An Ameri can
On this land
There is no ban
You can do
Whatever you can

Take a stand
Put your head in the sand
Work on your tan
Work from your van

Speak your mind
Though you might be panned
Be a celebrity
Or be a fan

Be special
Or an everyman
Who never ran
For public office
In this great land

© 2026 Kerry Mark Blackman. All Rights Reserved.

[verse 1]
I just want to walk between the trees
To feel a gentle breeze
To sit among the works of your hand

To feel your gentle touch
I’ll never have too much
And I’ve begun to understand

[chorus 1]
And now I see
That you created me
To wonder
To wonder
Now I see
That you created me
To wonder
To wonder

[verse 2]
I just want to listen to a stream
The beauty of a sunbeam
What is man that you should care for him

To gaze into the night
Lie beneath the starlight
I’ll lift my voice to only you I’ll sing

[chorus 2]
And now I see
That you created me
To wonder
To wonder
The blessings of your grace
To turn and seek your face
To wonder
To wonder

[ending]
And now I see
That you created me
To wonder
To wonder
To wonder

Fell through an open door
To a dark comet in space
Crowds were gathered for a race
Thought I saw your face

Fell through an open door
To a mansion on the moon
Radio dialed to soft love tunes
Every song was for you

No matter, wherever
To the end of forever

I find
I love you everywhere
I love
Love you everywhere oh
Everywhere

Fell through an open door
To a horse in the Gobi rain
Stars were tangled in her mane
They spelled your name

Fell through an open door
To a submarine in the sea
Captain yelled “Bring her to tea”
She knew I was lonely

(Repeat Chorus)

Whenever I go anywhere too far
I want to rush back to wherever you are

(Repeat Chorus x2)

I find
I love you everywhere
Everywhere

I wanna be me but need a change
Sometimes I hit some things I miss
Taking my time gotta get this right
Old school fist with a new school kiss

My head is pulled in different directions
I know what is right and wrong
But these days the lines are so blurred
Good stay silent while the bad talk long

I wanna quit it all and start brand new
Groundhog has me stressed all day
Only sleep two hours each night
There’s got to be a better way

I know who I am but second guess
What I think and feel
Blessed life that I curse all the time
Is my heart broken or head not real


Sometimes I don’t get what you and I do
I love all people but they make me mad
Because all we do is judge and hurt
Our worlds problems make me sad

And it’s always the same
What are we to do
Head down move on
History is back now we rue
Except the haves
They just laugh and sue

Instagram @faporti
Gmail fabatul2628@gmail.com
Cell number +52 729 848 3197

Red dust on my skin
ENGLISH
I travel through a crimson sea of empty, hollow space,
Pits of sand that someday will all cave in.
The sky is stained with poison,
Empty of stars,
Clouded like the way you love.
Like the red dust that keeps my heart alive,
I follow trails of breadcrumbs leading me to pain.
Close my eyes, and in a bath of ink I carve your name
In tiny letters.
You're only a fragment of who you could have been.
I'm a slave to your broken way of loving.
Even when you tell me you love me,
I'm no cowboy,
Roaming barren plains in search of your sun.
I wander down the shoreline looking for something worth keeping,
When I find myself down in the hole.
And maybe,
I won't regret the choices that decide the man I'll be.
No, no, no.
I'm not who I am.
I look into the mirror, lost because of you.
I don't look up at the stars,
I look around instead.
Is it the shine inside your eyes, or just the coins,
That make me feel I'm worth something?
Too much of a coward to love,
Yet brave enough to let you walk away.
I don't know what I'm searching for,
'Cause I'm where the sun begins to fade.
I'm a drifter, riding from town to town,
Like the gunslinger I pretend to be.
I've got no bullets,
No one standing by my side,




red dust on my skin
Only an old streak of luck that's slowly slipping away.
I don't drown myself in addictions,
Because I'd never grow tired of you.
Maybe
I don't know who I am,
Just another slave to your love.
I know the treasure that I'm chasing,
Because the sun has always led me there.
Slowly I drown in a sea of ink across my arm
Until you come back for my wounds.
Save me, even if you're my executioner.
In you I find the sand
And the landscape that brings me peace.
I've been waiting in this line for far too long.
Now it's only the sun and me.
Everything that once surrounded me
Has already left.
I know what I'm searching for,
Even if I don't know who I am.
Wherever you ask me to go,
You know that's where I'll be.
Where the sun burns hotter
Than the way I imagine your scent.

Monday needs to wait
As it irritates my condition
Which is missing a piece
And I want to fall
Tuesday’s even worse
It’s a blessing and a curse
My peace of mind
Is on a ledge
And my sword is double-edged
And my heart just beats right through
Oh-oh I’m out of touch
And there’s nothing much I can do
And my heart just beats right through
Oh-oh I’m running out of time
To fit the words to the rhyme
And my heart just stays in line

Wednesday sees the sun
Start to rise as one with I
It’s been a long reflection
As I head in the wrong direction
Thursday strikes a chord
There’s silver in my sword
I feel the light in my eyes
And for a while I stem the tide
And my heart just beats right through
Oh-oh I’m out of touch
And there’s nothing much I can do
And my heart just beats right through
Oh-oh I’m running out of time
To fit the words to the rhyme
And my heart just stays in line
But why?

Yeah-yeah…
Golden nights…
Dubai vibes…
Oooh-oh-oh!

[Verse 1]
Champagne shining on the rooftop,
City glowing like a crown.
High heels walking through the lobby,
Everybody looking now.

Silk dresses, diamonds flashing,
Engines roaring down the lane.
Money talks in every language,
Power running through the veins.

Palm trees dancing by the ocean,
Private parties every night.
In Dubai we chase the feeling,
Living faster than the light.

[Pre-Chorus]
Gold on my wrist, stars in my eyes,
Tonight we’re touching paradise.
No limits, no fear, no goodbye,
We were born to live this life!

[Chorus]
I’m flying to Dubai!
I’m flying to Dubai!
I’m flying to Dubai!
To see the eastern sunrise high!
And show the world my name,
Like fire inside the flame.
Dubai! Dubai!
Tonight we shine above the sky!
Hey!
Money, lights, desire!
Hey!
Everything is taking us higher!
Dubai!
Oh-oh-oh-oh!
Dubai!
The city where dreams come alive!

[Verse 2]
Beautiful women dressed in silver,
Millionaires in tailored black.
Every smile looks like a secret,
Every night no turning back.
Skyline burning in the midnight,
Luxury beneath the stars.

From the desert to the penthouse,
We forget who we really are.
Fast cars waiting by the coastline,
Golden sand beneath our feet.
Every heartbeat sounds expensive,
Every kiss tastes bittersweet.

[Pre-Chorus]
Gold on my wrist, stars in my eyes,
Tonight we’re touching paradise.
No limits, no fear, no goodbye,
We were born to live this life!

[Chorus]
I’m flying to Dubai!
I’m flying to Dubai!
I’m flying to Dubai!
To see the eastern sunrise high!
And show the world my name,
Like fire inside the flame.
Dubai! Dubai!
Tonight we shine above the sky!

[Bridge]
Oooooh…
Lights reflecting in the sea…
Oooooh…
This is where we’re meant to be…
One more night, one more chance,
Everybody lost in dance!

[Final]
I’m flying to Dubai!
I’m flying to Dubai!
I’m flying to Dubai!

Where golden dreams will never die!
We came to rule the night,
To burn like city lights!
Dubai! Dubai!

Forever young beneath the sky!
Hey!
Raise your glasses high!
Hey!
Tonight we own the paradise!
Dubai!
Oh-oh-oh-oh!
Dubai!

Tu disais que j’étais pas assez
Pas assez riche
Pas assez carré
Tu comptais tout
Même mes défauts
Tu cochais des cases sur ma peau

Mais quand je t’aimais sans calculer
C’est toi qui voulais t’échapper
J’ai vu ton cœur faire ses valises
Avant même que tu me les dises


J’ai donné mon âme sans contrat
Toi tu pensais déjà à un autre bras
Tu changeais d’plan
Tu changeais d’voix
Comme si j’étais qu’un banc d’essai pour toi
Mais l’amour vrai ne se remplace pas
Un jour tu comprendras ça
Quand tu verras qu’aucun regard
T’aimera comme je l’faisais
Trop tard (oh-oh)


Tu disais “on verra plus tard”
Mais plus tard
T’avais déjà pris l’train du départ
T’avais mis mon numéro en silence
Pendant que j’criais dans l’absence

J’me refais le film
Les soirées
Tes messages lus
Jamais envoyés
Tu voulais tout
Sauf mes blessures
Tu voulais le corps
Pas le futur


J’ai donné mon âme sans contrat
Toi tu pensais déjà à un autre bras
Tu changeais d’plan
Tu changeais d’voix
Comme si j’étais qu’un banc d’essai pour toi
Mais l’amour vrai ne se remplace pas
Un jour tu comprendras ça
Quand tu verras qu’aucun regard
T’aimera comme je l’faisais
Trop tard (oh-oh)


Un jour tu chercheras mon prénom
Dans un parfum
Dans une chanson
Tu t’rappelleras comment j’pardonnais
Tout c’que toi-même tu t’infligeais

Et ce jour-là
Seule dans ton lit
Tu mesureras tout c’que j’ai pris
Tout c’que j’ai tu
Tout c’que j’ai taire
Pour pas t’perdre
Pour nous laisser faire


J’ai donné mon âme sans contrat
Toi tu pensais déjà à un autre bras
Tu changeais d’plan
Tu changeais d’voix
Comme si j’étais qu’un banc d’essai pour toi
Mais l’amour vrai ne se remplace pas
Un jour tu comprendras ça
Quand tu verras qu’aucun regard
T’aimera comme je l’faisais
Trop tard (oh-oh)

*Old West introduction

The dusk of Santa Lúcia
Keeps a mystery Unfold
Three shadows guarding their hearts
Aint no gold aint no soul

One's got sorrow and scars
One's got fire
One's just wants It all To burn

Heaven is far gone from here

*Hard Rock starts here

She's a cougar on the run, waiting away, for the perfect pray
When you fire
Shes already gone
When he sees her dont looks in her eyes

(Pre-Chorus)
There’s a god with a gun and a crooked smile,
A sin in the sky wearing wings of denial,
Drawing lines in the sand like a holy trial
Who shoots? Who kneels? Who dares?

(Chorus)
But no one fires.
No one bleeds.
Only silence grows like a weed.
We walk away
Still unsafe on broken knees.

He's known in all valleys, all towns from the West
Drank all beers
Old but down for a test Rides with No fear for death
Seeks the best of the nights on a bet

(Pre-Chorus)
There’s a god with a gun and a crooked smile,
A sin in the sky wearing wings of denial,
Drawing lines in the sand like a holy trial
Who shoots? Who kneels? Who dares?

(Chorus)
But no one fires.
No one bleeds.
Only silence grows like a weed.
We walk away
Still unsafe on broken knees.

(Bridge)
Love is his bullet
Perfect aim
Whom never fails
Two hearts to claim
May dusk show its mercy

(Chorus)
But no one fires.
No one bleeds.
Only silence grows like a weed.
We walk away
Still unsafe on broken knees.

They drew the borders with a heavy pen
Rewriting rules we’ll have to break again
A quiet trauma that they don't acknowledge
Behind the walls of their systemic knowledge
They lock the doors and call it regulation
My home was stolen for generations
​
Stolen by the well-intentioned hands
By distant voices making cold demands
"It was for our own good," they tell us slow
As if they knew the things we used to know
With paper, ink, and a clinical smile
They made what I do illegal for a while
​
And now the beauty is gone
Yeah, the love is gone
The landscape shifts underneath the dawn
I need to heal from it all
To find the strength to carry on
But my home is gone

When you come to plant me,
under bracken fiery red.
Do not mourn for long, although
I know my bodies dead.
I will feed into this cycle
of nature that is wild
so I’ll be there in the moment
as a carefree happy child.

I’ll be dancing on the breeze
That lilts through trees of green,
Wandering the mountains
A life of evergreen.
although we can’t now touch,
Don’t you cry for me
Ill be swaying in the tall trees
Wild……wild and free

I’ll weep as gentle leaves
that fill the saddest eyes
Drown in purple colour sunsets
I’ll fill the biggest skies
So, sit amongst the hillside,
catch rain upon your face
because here as part of nature
I’m in a wild and wonderous place.

I’ll be dancing on the breeze
That lilts through trees of green,
Wandering the mountains
A life of evergreen.
although we can’t now touch,
Don’t you cry for me
Ill be swaying in the tall trees
Wild……wild and free

Bridge
Winters womb, winters womb
No tomb, no tomb
Here there is so much room


I’ll be growing in the springtime,
in summer I will bloom,
reflect with you in autumn mists,
then return to winters womb.


I’ll be dancing on the breeze
That lilts through trees of green,
Wandering the mountains
A life of evergreen.
although we can’t now touch,
Don’t you cry for me
Ill be swaying in the tall trees
Wild……wild and free

Now that I can fly ,
over fields and over rivers,
I see the beauty of this earth ,
but now we are in quivers,

Our lives have changed so fast ,
I can not hear a whisper,
from those that wont stand up,
to the crooks and to the grifters,

But I believe in you ,
the good people of our nation,
to stand up for what's right ,
and send ?? to all damnation..

(Verse 1)
I’ve grown to lose control
Of these hands of cherries
Chasing flying songbirds of love
‘Cause you painted me a portrait,
Skylight eyes and blossoming kisses
Before the brushstrokes turned into storms

(Chorus)
You stripped my bark, you watched me bleed
You wanted me to be birchwood
But I was a black cherry tree
You wanted a bitch’s wood
But I was a black cherry tree

(Verse 2)
And you can’t put lace ‘round my branches
You can’t chop me down with dignity
If you wanted my blossoms to be white
Why’d you have me become burgundy?
If you wanted my blossoms to be white
Why’d you sew up this life to seam like this?

(Chorus)
You stripped my bark, you watched me bleed
You wanted me to be birchwood
But I was a black cherry tree
You wanted a bitch’s wood
But I was a black cherry tree

(Refrain)
You wanted me to be birchwood
But I was a black cherry tree
You “wanted me lifelong”
But “I was never pleased”

(Bridge)
The roots will rot will rot will rot will rot will rot
And I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go
But you had this place under control
Why has it turned to a madhouse garden?
You had it under control
But you kept quiet too long

(Instrumental build up)

(Post-Bridge)
You wanted a bitch’s wood, admit it
You wanted a pleasing bitch, admit it
You wanted a bitch’s wood, admit it
You wanted a pleasing bitch

(Chorus)
You stripped my lark, you watched it bleed
But I was a black cherry tree
You wanted me to be birchwood
You wanted a bitch’s wood
But I was a wild breed
You couldn’t wed me in

Gemini Girl

She with the eyes the color of cold, deep water,
And hair like sun-bleached ice.
Her shirt is the color of the desert floor,
Scrubbed thin by years of wind and dust.
She is not a queen, but a finder of lost things.
She discovered it where the temple walls finally gave up,
Where the red rock split open like a cracked egg.
In a the crypt beneath the dunes,
Where the air had been still and perfect for ages,
It waited.

The obsidian disk has a bronzed eye, wide as the woman's hands.
The etched with concentric rings of stories,
Things that have already been forgotten.
A lion on two legs, a winged human,
A wheel of nameless, fixed stars.
The gems are more than jewels; they are fixed points,
Purple and blue pinpricks of meaning,
A whole galaxy held in a handful of metal.
It is not a map of the ground, but of confluence.

Who made it? Not a single hand.
The precision is too ancient for our tools,
Too alien for our designs, yet too human
In its metaphors.
Perhaps the work of a forgotten conclave,
A blend of earthly stonecraft and star-borne knowledge.
A fusion of civilizations that should not have met.
It belongs neither entirely to the sky,
Nor purely to the earth.
It is a ghost of a fusion.

She holds it like a shield as it reveals it's secret.
Its weight in her palms is an old language.
She is not its maker, but knows it's key,
The first to hear its metal sing again,
The one whose breath is needed
To wake the sleeping geometry.
It means a time is near.
A shifting of the sky and the sand.
She looks out at the dying light,
Her gaze not on the ruins,
But on the invisible lines the disk traces,
Following the path it opens.

Mervyn Graham (03 April 2026)

Dear Felicity, I see you in the mirror
Wearing all my shame like its designer wear
You whisper lies in sugar tones
Like you’re protecting me from being alone

You called me names I never earned
Throw matches at the bridges I’ve burned
But I know you’re just trying to cope
With stories no child should ever be told

I know you’re build from screams
Woven from silence and shattered dreams
But you don't have to bleed to feel alive
We can both learn how to survive

Felicity, its time you knew
You’re not my enemy, you’re broken too
You learned to hurt before you healed
But pains not proof that love ain’t real
Felicity, I'm holding tight
Even when you pick a fight
I see the wounds beneath your rage
We’re turning over a band new page

You say I’m nothing, just a mess
But I've walked barefoot through your emptiness
You build a fortress out of fear
But darling look! We’re still here!

You told me I'd die if I got too close
To anyone who might love me most
But hearts don’t break just ‘cause they beat
And home is found when you halt the retreat

You were a child with no escape
So you became the voice that kept me safe
But safety's not the same as peace
Lets trade the war for sweet relief

Felicity, it's time you knew
You’re not my enemy, just broken too
You learned to fight with sharpened grace
But you don’t have to hide your face
Felicity, come breathe with me
Lets rewrite our history
You don’t have to be so loud
To prove you’ve always made me proud

If love was missing, I’ll give it now
I won’t leave you - I know how
To hold your hand through every scar
You do not have to court the the dark

Felicity, come and dance with me
Lets make melody from memory
We’ve been through hell, but here the truth
I wont give up on me or you
Felicty, I see you dear
You’re voice no longer runs with fear
We’re not broken, just in bloom
Lets weave this pain into our tune

Dear Felicity, please be kind today
You don't have to push me away
The world is softer than you think
Lets take a breath
Lets sink in peace

[Chorus]
I live between the beats
In arteries of silence
The locked chambers
Hold in trust my love

[Verse 1]
I have prayed for
My veil of ignorance to be lifted
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani
Leaving me a living crucible
To accept your sacred gift
To save me

[Verse 2]
Your chalice is my holy grail
An eternity on the waiting list
To be one of eight owners
Gifted life by your fate

[Verse 3]
They say surgery went well
Yet I feel unwell
Like those who loved you
I have come to know Charon's hell

[Verse 4]
The soul price
You paid the ferryman
Now I hold the repair bill
One I can never repay

[Bridge]
I have become
A living reliquary
Of you

[Chorus]
I live between the beats
In arteries of silence
The chambers exposed
I hold in trust your love

[Outro]
There in the silence
I listen to this shared heart
Living to hear you say
I am glad

You have become
A living reliquary
Of me

© 2026 John Osinga. All rights reserved. St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.

For the donors. For the recipients. For those who loved them.

About Reliquary

A heart transplant (or any transplant), told from the perspective of the recipient. The recipient often can carry guilt knowing what it cost -- someone who passed away so they could live.

However, People signed their donor cards in case of their death. So the gift of life they share is done with love. That is why, at the end of this lyric, I gave voice to the donor.


I am glad
You have become
A living reliquary
Of me

Reliquary: a container built to hold something sacred. A saint's bone. A fragment of the true cross. Here: a human body holding another person's beating heart.

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani: Christ's words from the cross. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" The recipient's darkest moment alive, and not always sure they deserved to be.

Charon, the ferryman of Greek mythology, who carries the dead across the river Styx. The donor paid him for another to live.

Eight owners: a single donor can gift life to up to eight recipients.

Living crucible: a vessel built to contain something that transforms under heat. The recipient isn't just healed. They're changed for all time in multiple ways.

© 2026 John Osinga. All rights reserved. St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.

"Bayou Baby" (got to have cajun accordian on this one)

She's my bayou baby and I don't mean maybe
twenty four hours a day
I was totally smitten by this cajun kitten
coz she took my blues away

I'll fight thru the swamps and the cypress stumps
to have her by my side
and if the gators attack I'll bite em back
to prove my love is right

(chorus)
She's my bayou baby......(accord riff) mybayou baby.......(fiddle riffs)
my own delta queen, ayeeeee

*****cajun music breaks******

I'll swim the Mississippi to get to my kitty(even if it's nippy)
to keep her from a hurricane
and if the gale winds blow, I'll shove em down th road
before they cause any rain

We'll do our dancin and moonlight romancin
down on Bourbon street
and when they Mardi Gras , we'll ooh la la
like it was meant to be

(chorus)
She's my bayou baby.......(accord riff) mybayou baby......(fiddle riffs)
my own delta queen
(2X)

©"Bayou Baby" O7-10-2012 by Gary D. Gray All Rights Reserved (BMI)

*** Pinball ***

[Intro]
Game on

[Chorus]
What do you do
When your world is shaken
When the only game in town
Is an ole pinball machine
Destined to tilt

[Verse 1]
You have to be on the ball
Not to fall into a hole
Not to lose your turn
Not to be in deep shit

Not to have your tilt sign lit
To be the only bright light
In the games you play

[Verse 2]
You should know the score
The pinball maker
Holds the repair bill
Like so many
I've paid the price to play

[Bridge]
Even the cheats lose
Playing their rigged game

[Verse 3]
I would like to play this out
If you're game to take me on
I can take the hits
That is
If you honestly give two bits

[Chorus]
What do you do
When your world is shaken
When the maker
Of your ole pinball machine
Has moved on

[Outro]
I guess
We could search iFixit to see
If anyone posted instructions on
How to repair an ole pinball machine.

[Tag]
Game on

John Osinga ©2025

[intro]
You walked into my party tonight, a friend’s plus one
Had no idea you were her work husband
Your familiar, smiling eyes, bright as the sun
Man oh man, this was gonna be fun

[verse]
My heart’s memories come flooding back
to late nights and later mornings that last year in college
He says, “you’re as cute as ever, if I’m being honest.”
“Yeah?”I flirt, “you stayin’ for breakfast?”

[chorus]
Pull back the covers, no need for being modest
Our warm comfort reminds me of what we'd once promised
And maybe it’s all happening a little too fast
Reminiscent of those late nights from years past
maybe this is too good to ask
I smile and say, “glad you stayed for breakfast.”

[verse]
Left my heart in late nights and later mornings
A bittersweet memory collage
I say, “you’re as cute as ever, if I’m being honest.”
“That’s right,” you smile, "you were always the wisest.”

[chorus]
Pull back the covers, no need for being modest
Our warm comfort reminds me of what we'd once promised
And maybe it’s all happening a little too fast
Reminiscent of those late nights from years past
maybe this is too good to ask
I smile and say, “glad you stayed for breakfast”

[Verse]
The years have passed and yet our past still seems near
How did we grow apart, year after year?
I say, “still cute as ever, if I’m being honest”
“And you’re you,” he claims, “still a goddess.”

[chorus]
Pull back the covers, no need for being modest
Our warm comfort reminds me of what we'd once promised
And maybe it’s all happening a little too fast
Reminiscent of those late nights from years past
maybe this is too good to ask
I smile and say, “glad you stayed for breakfast”

[outro]
You came to my party last night, a friend’s plus one
Life can come full circle and sure leave you stunned
We savored the moment, regrets, there were none
man oh man, did we have some fun

Need Someone

Need someone to hold my hand
And notice me for who I am
Someone that will hear me out
Not interrupt nor look about

Need someone to share my life
Walk me through troubled time
Someone that is always true
Walks the line, knows what to do.

(chorus)
Then you walked into my life
Held my hand, feeling alright
Your the one I been looking for
That someone I trust and adore


(chorus)
The sun shines bright
On our life to come
Heaven will announce
I have found my love.

©2025 Kenneth Kattein

When the moon is hidden and the town’s asleep
She heads out to the woods till it’s tangled and deep
Lending her ear to the voice that’s never fake
Her limbs turn to lichen, her mind is a lake
There’s no use in looking for her hiding place
She leaves no trace

In an old world city she has you hunting for clues
By a secret door you spot her white tennis shoes
Down a ceiling beam dangle her ropes
To strangle your blues and stir up your hopes
Her whip makes no mark that her lips won’t erase
She leaves no trace

Her father was a hunter, she was his only son
King of courtyard scuffles, handy with the gun
When her favourite hound got terminally ill
Dad said: keep your eyes open and your heart still
There is no pain that death won’t outpace
She leaves no trace

If you be her flower, she’ll guard you inside
Through petrified fields as the seasons collide
She will frown and see through you and pull you close
But you’d better not ask where she comes and she goes
Her heart is a hawk that doesn’t give chase
She leaves no trace

You might have met her on her morning walk
Single mother by choice, dislikes small talk
She teaches your kids, lives in the flat next door
Buys bell-bottom jeans at the local store
Sometimes the absolute wears a plain face
She leaves no trace

When they slowly
begin to flow,
all those words —
of love, you know —
from some cherished
song so true,
once sung
just for you.

In the warmth
of summer’s arms,
so close to the sea,
you’re walking
in the footsteps
of ancient, lovely dreams.

Your memories
awaken dreamily,
calling back
old reflections,
dear again,
as they once were,
when they flowed
through your veins.

You’re sitting,
softly dreaming,
in the shade of the trees,
by the river,
at the heart
of your lovely, sunlit city.

In the warmth
of summer’s arms,
so close to the sea,
you’re walking
in the footsteps
of ancient, lovely dreams.

You know who I hate most? Are those who made me love them the best
I posted and called a human I chose above all the rest
Above my blood and my family
A hidden and newly discovered branch on our tree, We all agreed
But now you don’t answer me
It’s like losing an arm that you chose to grow
Killing a seed we acknowledged to sew
In your lack of correspondence creating a foe; It goes against all I know
Against all I feel
Like sending a love letter and refusing to seal
An envelope of unrequited love, a paper cut too deep to heal
I’ll always for forgive you. Because loving you is easier than hating your faults
A syncopated friendship, a stumble in life’s waltz
Still it’s your fault
And I hate you for making me love in your absence
And constantly talking about you in the past tense
The most crippling gestures are your read receipts on the message I sent
And days later I question in silence

© J. Patrick Sharpe
Lyrics and Music by J. Patrick Sharpe

Did you follow me here with a love of the eternal kind?
Did you follow me here with the rage of one left behind?
Did you follow me here like a stream that flows underground?
Did you know where you were going was your soul overflowing with a love that just wouldn't come down?

Now I love you dear but you shouldn't have scared me that way
You haunted my dreams when you appeared to me most every day
Did you choose your place well when you were born to your mother that day?
Well I thought I was dreaming when I heard your voice screaming from over two hundred miles away

Will we still play the game like we did in lifetimes before?
Will it still be the same when they don't let us back through the door?
Will we linger around like clouds on a rainy spring day?
Will we keep our love brewing will we know what we're doing or will we run out of good things to say?

So did you follow me here with a love of the eternal kind?
Did you follow me here with the rage of one left behind?
Did you follow me here like a stream that flows underground?
Did you know where you were going was your soul overflowing with a love that just wouldn't come down?