1. |
When First Her Form
03:04
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When first her form was visible in autumn’s softer light,
It dawned on him that lack of warmth had been a bitter blight.
The air was sweetened by her breath: she needed no perfume.
He stood in silence as he watched her float around the room.
There was a laughter in her eyes, that danced enchantingly,
When other persons walked her path, she spoke engagingly.
He gazed as she arranged the art with speed and expertise.
He had no fear of any task assigned to Hercules.
He vowed that he would soon dissolve her anonymity,
Then turned his face to catch her look with keen expectancy.
He saw her weaving on the loom as did Penelope,
But did not dare to dream that there could be an ecstasy.
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2. |
Terror Trembling
01:50
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Terror trembling in the core.
Does she find you just a bore?
Will she send you through the door?
Will you see her nevermore?
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3. |
Round the Table
03:08
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Round the table drinks are flowing,
Beer and wine and food galore.
Max’s cheeks are brightly glowing:
All his tales we just adore.
Makes no diff’rence what the gender,
Tales of love are always told.
Else’s arms are white and slender,
Fingernails are flecked with gold.
While on lobsters we are dining,
Lisa sips her beer and sighs.
Sitting in her corner pining
For a young man good at lies.
Rudi’s wife has now divorced him
We all know the reason why.
Chances really are quite slim,
That she’ll be ever dropping by.
Arno is our special feature,
And the tales he tells are long.
In a voice just like a preacher,
He declares what’s right and wrong.
All the tales we tell are showing
That our lives are ever flowing:
Tales of losing and of keeping,
Tales of sowing and of reaping.
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4. |
I Speak 'tis Clear
01:13
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I speak, ‘tis clear, of course, in jest:
Your standards are too high.
Your thoughts are all above the chest,
Or far below the thigh.
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5. |
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Waiting silently for food,
orange cats our hearts have wooed.
But, to their silence they’re not glued:
When at times they’ve meowed and meowed
We have thought we’d have them stewed,
Little monsters from brood
Little Babe and Bubba dood.
All our thoughts were close to lewd,
We’d have danced through Auburn nude
By our friends and strangers viewed.
But we didn’t, for then you’d
For our frenzy us both sued.
You’ll not think these lines are crude
When your life with cats is strewed.
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6. |
Ponies on a Carousel
01:28
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Ponies on a carousel.
Children captured by the spell.
Both are now from time set free:
Whirling in eternity.
Rising, falling — round and round;
Where they run is sacred ground.
Through the rain, sun, heat, and cold,
Those who ride do not grow old.
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7. |
Some Say
01:04
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Some say that all of life is Spring
And so they to each blossom cling.
These never will in harvest sing.
They’ll never learn to live full swing.
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8. |
I Felt Your Soul
03:11
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I felt your soul within your hand
The day I found your world.
I sensed your touch without demand
And hopes were heaven-hurled.
As fruit when found before its time
Requires us to wait,
The perilous must reach its prime
Before we love our fate.
Your craving for a freer heart
Would make its presence known.
Your pain had played a crucial part:
Your would not live alone.
The bachelor buttons that you picked
Were placed in wild array.
Their petals could not well-predict
That life would lead this way.
A garden is for tasting wine
And resting in the shade,
As two lives learn to intertwine,
Forgoing all charade.
We cannot live for evermore,
But we await no hell.
We’ve walked along the ocean shore
And found the sacred shell.
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Robert & Elizabeth Greenleaf Music Auburn, Alabama
Well known as a composer of piano music, Elizabeth Greenleaf has had numerous pieces published by The FJH Music
Company.
Dr. Robert Greenleaf is an Emeritus Professor of Music at Auburn University. His opera Under the Arbor premiered in 1992 and was shown nationally on Public Television in 1994.
... more
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