All You're Meant to Be

Don't you sit and mope
Don't you ever doubt
That you cannot do what you want to do

I believe in you
And you must believe too
That you can be anything you want to be

There's a whole other world
That's waiting to be found
And it all belongs to you
If you'll only look around.
And I believe that your
Dreams can come true!

I'll be waiting there for you,
I'll be watching what you do,
I'll be dreaming of the day
When you finally find your way,
And you become all you were meant to be.

Don't you loose your head
Don't you ever dread
That you cannot do what you want to do

Your life belongs to you
There's nothing you can do
If you only know what you want to be

You can be if you dare,
That's all the reason why.
The castle's in the air
And you must learn to fly.

And I believe that your
Dreams can come true!

I'll be waiting there for you,
I'll be watching what you do,
I'll be dreaming of the day
When you finally find your way.

And you become all you were meant to be.

Song Recordings

I've been busily neglecting this blog I'm afraid. I've exhausted the poems I already had typed up and on the computer and now I've got six years worth of notebooks to sort through. I no longer have computer access on the weekends so that messes things up a bit as well. But while I'm digging around for the rest of my poems, I wanted to let everyone know I did get recordings done last Wednesday. Since I told so many people I would, I figured I'd better let everyone know I did, and I've got two songs up on YouTube: My Immortal by Evanescence and Morgan's Lament.

Please keep in mind that these are rough cuts, not the finished recordings.

Deirdre of the Sorrows

Deirdre of the Sorrows is a legend out of old, celtic Ireland. It was written in the stars at her birth that one day she would bring great trouble and sorrow to Ireland. In spite of this she caught the Fancy of King Connor who raised her, intending to marry her when she came of age. Deirdre had no desire to marry a man she saw as her father, and on the eve of the wedding she ran away with Naoise, a young fionna warrior, and his two brothers.

They went first to Albony, but when the king heard of the beauty of Deirdre he raided their home in the night, desiring to take her for his own. Deirdre and the three brothers barely escaped with their lives. The fled into the highland wilderness and made a home for themselves, hidden from all other men. But King Connor was not going to allow them to escape. He sent Fergus, an old warrior he knew Naoise would trust, to bid them come back to his hall and make peace. Deirdre begged not to go, but Naoise was a warrior and he missed his place in the hall at Tara, and eagerly agreed to accept Fergus' vow of safe conduct. But Connor used cunning treachery to make sure that the foursome were left alone on the shores of Ireland.

None of the Fionna would fight against one of their own, and many stood beside Naoise and his brothers in defense of his wife. But at the end of the day all had fallen to treachery or to the mercenaries called out by the King. Then Connor looked at the bloody field outside his door and regretted what he had done. And he sent to Naoise and his brothers, who remained standing in a tight shield wall around Deirdre, and offered them his friendship and asked for their pardon. The brothers laughed in relief and lowered their shields and sheathed their swords and went forward to greet their king. When their guard was down Connor gestured to his mercenaries and said, "Kill them."

Deirdre stood over the grave of her husband and her brothers. The man she loved was dead and the man she now hated she was to marry. She had no more will to live. Crying out to Naoise she lept into the grave beside him, her soul fled from her body and she died.

A storm came rushing on that night
Deirdre, Daughter of Sorrows,
When your eyes first saw the light.
Deirdre, did you know?

The stars proclaimed your future plight
Deirdre, Daughter of Sorrows,
There was no escape that night
Deirdre, did you know?

King Connor’s anger grew each day
Deirdre, Daughter of Sorrows,
You would become his queen one day
Deirdre, did you know?

Songs are sung and wars are won and tales are told of woe
When darkness fell ‘round fiery head
Deirdre, did you know?

He vowed to lock you far away.
Deirdre, Daughter of Sorrows
From the lads with whom you played.
Deirdre, did you know?

The son of Usna loved you well
Where you had gone no one would tell
What he found by chance he stole away
Your fate was finished on that day

You fled in fear of Connor’s wrath
Deirdre, daughter of Sorrows
First to Scotland than away to the west
Deirdre, did you know?

Songs are sung and wars are won and tales are told of woe
When darkness fell ‘round your fiery head
Deirdre, did you know?

It was treachery that laid you low.
Deirdre, Daughter of Sorrows
Every sorrow you’d come to know.
Deirdre, did you know?

Before your eyes Naoise was slain

But greater still was your living pain.

Songs are sung and wars are won and tales are told of woe
When darkness fell ‘round your fiery head
Deirdre, did you know?

Avenging and bright fall the swift sword of Erin
On him whom the brave sons of Usna betrayed
For every fond eye which he wakened a tear in
A drop of his heart blood shall weep o’er the blade

By the red cloud that hung o’er Connor’s dwelling
When Ulad’s three champions lay sleeping in gore
By the billows of war which so often times swelling
Hath wafted these heroes to victories shore

We swear to revenge them; no joy shall be tasted
The harp shall be silent the maiden unwed
Our halls shall be mute and our fields shall lie wasted
‘Till vengeance is wreaked on the murderer’s head

Yes monarch, though sweet is our home recollections,
Though sweet are the tears that from tenderness fall
Though sweet are our friends, our hopes and affections,
Revenge on a tyrant is sweetest of all.

Song are sung and wars are won and tales are told of woe
When darkness fell ‘round your fiery head
Deirdre, did you know?

The Nettle-Spinner

When the Shades of night are gone
When you rise and see the morn
Then you know the time has come
For you to go away

We will not fear when you are gone
For we know that you've gone home
You have gone to meet the sun
And we must let you go

When the moon's bright course is done
When the morning's fight is won
Then you know your race is run
And you must go away

We will miss you when you're gone
But we know your journey's done
You've gone to claim a victors crown
In a land that's far away.

We woke and saw the night was gone
We woke and saw a bright new morn
Then we knew that you'd gone home
When the shades of night are gone.

The Dragon-Slayer

This is an epic poem based on a story referred to in Trice, my fourth novel. It actually was more like a novella, at a mere wimpy 30,000 words. The last few verses of this poem are crucial to the plot and finally I decided I needed to write the whole thing, and here it is. You can read Trice on my website: here.

Daltor was a hero bold
Fast his thoughts and bright his sword
Swift his smiles, slow his frowns
An easy laugh he passed around
A song was ready from his heart
On any quest he'd gladly start
He’d neither home nor bride nor kin
The forest was his favorite inn
He drove the monsters from Delsward
Bad men fell beneath his sword
He drove the dragons from the glen
But cared not for the praise of men
No reward would he accept.
Nor would he take the men's respect
'All in a day of work!' said he,
And go on working merrily.
He earned a might reputation
For his strength and glad elation.
Monsters and robbers fled at his name,
Mighty his laugh and his sword and his fame.

One day a wizard grim and dreary
Said, 'of this hero I'm woefully weary.
It's time that of Daltor we all could be rid
It’s time that his power forever was hid.
A spell I will speak and a curse I will lay
This hero will meet his end far away.
A quest I will give him that will send him so far
He’ll never come back to bother us more.'
The wizard chuckled and rubbed his long hands
And set about quickly to finish his plans.
The spell his spoke was long and dreadful
The curse that he laid on Daltor was fearful.
The hero stopped, wherever he stood
Shaken by dread not yet understood.
The wizard sent longing for lands far away
A longing that grew, day after day.
Desire ate at Daltor's mind
His thoughts were consumed with the lands he might find.
He lost his laugh and his ready smile
He spent his days now being idle
He cared no more for his love and his work
Evil creatures crept back into the murk.
His sword grew dull and his thoughts grew dim
The land around seemed bleak and grim.
“I'll stay no more!' at last he cried,
'The mountains beckon, so tall and wide,
Beyond them I'm sure the land is fair
The trees are green and there's sweet air
I long to walk in fields that are golden
And to be done with monsters and dragons!'
Then he turned away from his land
Heedless of cries from woman or man
Shunning their need as he hadn't before
Forsaking their flocks and the hearth and door
At last he reached the end of the plain
Where stood great summits he would gain
He stood and looked without regret
All his brave deeds he had forgot
Until a cry from a shepherd maid
Made him turn at what she said
She told Daltor that a dragon had come
“My father is dead and the sheep are gone.
I know that you are brave and strong
That you’ve a sharp sword and a ready song
My brother is there, if he isn't dead too
Ah, sir, you must help me! You know what to do!'
Daltor looked at the mountains and sighed.
“I'm leaving,” he said, scarce hearing her cries
“I'm finished with dragons and all of their ways...”
“Heaven curse you for cowardice this day!”
The maiden cried and snatched his sword
“My father's dead and you, a lord,
Just stand and say that you cannot!
You can't? I say that you will not!
If you will not than on your head
Be my blood when I am dead!”
Than she turned and ran away
To where her father silent lay
Daltor followed her angry flight
Suddenly knowing that all was not right.
The maiden roused the dragon's sleep
He saw the blood and the slaughtered sheep.
The maid with his sword ran up to the beast
The monster turned, still full from the feast.
The Dragon-Slayer's hands turned cold
The girl was fearless, strong and bold,
But for a dragon she was no match.
The monster had an easy catch.
Daltor screamed and tried to say,
“I will not let you die this way!
Give me my sword! I'll take the challenge!
I'm not such a coward as you imagined!”
But it was too late. With a horrible cry
The dragon belched fire and smoke filled the sky.
When the smoke cleared the maiden was dead.
The hero regretted the words he had said.
But his grief made him angrier still
He picked up his sword, full ready to kill.
The blade was red hot but he stood the pain
The dragon stood ready for battle again.
But Daltor knew what he was about
He avoided the flames from the dragon's snout
Until he stabbed him straight in the eye
The dragon fell dead with one last cry.
Then Daltor wept for the words of the maid
But her brother stood there and heard what was said.
“If you had come sooner she would not have died.”
“I tried.” said the dragon-slayer, “I tried.”
“I know you are cursed.” the shepherd replied,
“I can see it in your eyes.
Stay with me until you are strong
Until you regain your laugh and your song.”

The wizard saw that the spell was not working
That Daltor soon would be back to his hunting.
So he sent a poison into his veins,
A poison that on the dragon was blamed.
Daltor grew pale and sick and the yearning
To cross the mountains was swiftly returning.
He could not fight two curses at once
The wizard smiled, knowing as much.
At last he said, “I can stay here no longer.
I must cross the mountains where I can grow stronger.
My choice is to go or to stay here and die...”
His friend hid his face and tried not to cry.
“Perhaps over there in the fair lands I'll find
Who has this terrible hold on my mind.
And then I'll return for I can't leave you long
This land, with its monsters, is where I belong.”
So doubly cursed and marked by death
The Hero rode into the west.
Before he left these words he said,
“Love has not died and is not dead.
As long as there is love there's life,
And hope continues through the strife.”
What he meant no one can tell
But all throughout the land there fell
The rumor that the brave Daltor,
The Hero, would walk the vale once more.
Though monsters prowl and wizards scheme
They know they cannot reign supreme.
For somewhere in the distant West
They know Daltor's love does not rest.

Morgon's Lament

I go on Wednesday to get this recorded. :D


Wandering gently as a river
Then I turn and shape the wind
I am lost and I'm bewildered
I can't let you go again.

Sleep silent under rocky stone
The earth you loved is all around
From Wind-plain comes the gentle sound
Of my grief...

You were gentle as the spring time
And of the homeland which I loved
Your fierceness was that of the falcons
I was caught within your love.

When the Great War has been ended
And the land has been brought peace
Then I'm silent in your stillness
In your sleep...

Sleep silent under rocky Cairn
The earth that's yours is all around
From all my realm there comes the sound
Of my grief...

Of my love.

Light in Darkness

I was wandering in darkness, you were my light
I was wounded and dying, you gave me life
I was footsore and weary, you let me in
I was a stranger, you were a friend

I was a prisoner, you set me free
I was alone, you came to me
I was despairing, you gave me hope
My heart was empty, you filled it with love.

Two Roads

There are two roads that you can travel
Two paths that you can take
Two places you can journey
Two choices you can make

There are two visions you can reach for
Two people you can be
There are two destinies to follow
Two ends that you can see

If you’re not for us you’re against us
If not against us then you’re ours
There is no middle meeting point
There is no common ground

There is no gray in who you are
Your life is black or white
There is no dawn, there is no dusk
There’s only dark and light

Choose this day whom you will serve
And what your fate will be
There are two ends to life’s dark road
And one will set you free

The Second Messenger

This poem requires a little bit of back story to make adequate sense. In June, 2009 I had my first directing position as Assistant to the Director in a summer production of J.B. A modern interpretation of the biblical story of Job. It was a very interesting play, and became and even more interesting production, not too mention just a little on the ambitious side, considering this was a children's theatre. Half the cast was made up of my siblings and cousins, everyone joked about it being a Daniel's production. In this play Job had only five children and they're taken from him a few at a time, rather than all at once. Every time one of them dies the news is brought to Job and his wife by the same two messengers. First they were from the army, then they were reporters, then they were policemen, etc. But they were always the same, one a demonic messenger and the second an angel. And every time the second messenger grows more and more reluctant, more and more insistent as she repeats:

"I only am alone escape to tell thee.
I who have understood nothing, have known
nothing, have been answered nothing..."

Why was it I who had to tell him
Who had to make the truth be known?
Why did I have to see her face,
The mother stripped of all she’d born?

I don’t understand. I didn’t want-
Didn’t want to see it all.
Why did you choose me, Oh Lord?
Who am I to face your call?

You weren’t there! You don’t know!
Nobody can understand.
Seeing everything you loved
Slip away…Alone…

First his sons. Then his daughters.
What more did he have to loose?
His home, his wife, at last his health
And each time I brought the news.

I watched his face, I watched his heart
As he watched them slip away.
I watched him choose and at the last
He saw the breaking of the day.

For this life is but a dream.
He knew that and he found the light.
But I still wander, lost, alone,
Blindly groping in the night.

Why was I chosen, I who knew nothing?
I who still seek the truth that he knew?
Why was I made to see all the horror,
The evil, the grief, the pain he lived through?

Was it just to see the end?
To see that God is always just?
To know that there is peace, is love,
Is mercy for all men? For us?

Come With Me

I was angry, I was tired
I was heartsick, I was lame
I was stumbling in the darkness
When I heard you speak my name.

"Come with me." You said so softly,
"Come and lay your burden by.
Let me walk with you a while
Let me calm dark sorrow's cry.

"I will dry your tears and heartache
I will be your soul's desire
I will fill your endless yearning
I will set your heart on fire.

"Let me be your sole defender.
Let me be your only friend.
Let me fight your endless battle
Let me Be until the end.

"Come with me." You said it gently,
"Come with me." You said in love,
"I will lead you from the darkness
Into endless light above.

"I will give you truer happiness
Than any you have known
I will fill your soul with laughter
I will give to you a crown.

"I will take away your sorrow
I will banish all your pain.
I will sing to you in troubled times
They will not come again.

"The night may still defy us
But the sun will still shine on.
The clouds may sometimes cover it
But we will still fight on.

"One day we'll win the battle-
The enemy will flee
But if we stand alone as victors
'Tis a hollow victory."

"Come with me! and we will gather
Other souls along the way.
We will fight our way through darkness
Into the light of day.

"Then there will be no crying
And there will be no tears.
Gone will be the darkness
The anger and the fears.

"So come with me!" I heard you
As I sat alone awhile.
"Come with me." You still were calling
As I walked the lonely miles.

"Come with me." The dream sped onward
Yet I hesitated still.
Could I give my soul and spirit?
My anger and my will?

"Come with me." I heard the echoes
Slowly fade away...
"I am coming!" At last I shouted
And I came into the day.