New Forest

There's a light in the forest
When the moonbeams filter down
There's a mirror in the greenwood
Where the dew falls to the ground
Every branch and every blossom
Every root and every leaf
Drink the tears of the Goddess in the morning.

Well, the sun was her lover
When twilight came around
He said, "Lady, I'll protect you
'Til the world stops turning round."
And she danced in his brilliance
While the forest people slept
And she whispered in their ears the word, "Remember."

And the owls sang her song
And the crickets sang along
And the people were soothed in their sleep
Where her feet touched the earth
Midnight orchids sprang from nothing
And the forest grew thick with her dreams.

There came wars, there came cities
Wonders terrible and strange
But the light from the greenwood
Flickers down despite the change
Every field, every farm house
Every tired city street
Knows the tears of the Goddess in the morning.

When the sun comes to kiss her
And she slips out of her bed
They are young and old and ageless
Sunset paints the city red.
Shall we dance in the twilight
Watch the suburbs go to sleep
Lift a glass to all the people who remember

That the trains sing her song
And the streetlights hum along
And the people are soothed in their sleep
Where her fingers touch the sky
Shooting stars spark out of nowhere
And the wraps the city tight in her dreams.

And still the owls sing her song
And the crickets sing along
And the people are soothed in their sleep
Where her feet touch the earth
Midnight orchids spring from nothing,
And the forest grows thick with her dreams.

Notes: I came up with the line, "There's a light in the forest" while at the yearly all-members' meeting of a religious group to which I belong. I was looking out into the backyard of our hostess, and noticing how the light slanted into the room, all filtered, through the cover of her trees. Originally, I intended it to be an archetypal love story, but I like what happened to it in the end better. I'd written the first verse and half the first refrain, then got stuck running around trying to figure out the names of flowers that only bloom at night. Finally, at a local convention, I just decided to make a name up. I completed the song in about an hour, some of the only alone time I had at this convention, and I'm pleased with it.

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