The Feathers, the Bones, and the Shells

The sound of my heart is ancient and true
And it sings like a thousand bells
For sorrow and grace, for my love of you
The Feathers, the Bones and the Shells

I try to believe wherever you are
There's a sky and a sea of blue
And someone you trust
Whose sheltering arms

Have finally comforted you
The touch of you hand still lives in my skin
Like a shadow I can't embrace
Wherever it ends is where it begins
Without ever leaving a trace

So you live in me and I live in you
And the rest is for love to tell
That nothing escapes
The wind blowing through
The Feathers, the Bones and the Shells

-- Beth Nielsen Chapman and Joe Henry, from Beth's album Deeper Still 

Sand and Water

All alone, I didn't like the feeling
All alone, I sat and cried
All alone, I had to find some meaning
In the center of the pain I felt inside.

All alone, I came into this world
All alone, I will someday die
Solid stone is just sand and water, baby
Sand and water and a million years gone by.

I will see you in the light of a thousand suns
I will hear you in the sound of the waves
I will know you when I come, as we all will come
Through the doors beyond the grave.

All alone, I heal this heart of sorrow

All alone I raise this child
Flesh and bone, he's just bursting towards tomorrow
And his laughter fills my world and wears your smile.

I will see you in the light of a thousand suns
I will hear you in the sound of the waves
I will know you when I come, as we all will come
Through the doors beyond the grave.

All alone I came into this world
All alone I will someday die
Solid stone is just sand and water, baby
Sand and water and a million years gone by.

--Beth Nielsen Chapman, Sand and Water, 1997

Every December Sky

Every December sky
Must lose its faith in leaves
And dream of the spring inside the trees.
How heavy the empty heart,
How light the heart that's full.
Sometimes I have to trust what I can't know
Sometimes I have to trust what I can't know.

We walk into Paradise;
The angels lend us shoes.
'Cause all that we own,
We'll come to lose,
And Heaven is not so far
Outside this womb of words.
With every rose that blooms
My soul is assured
It's just like a song I've known
Yet still unheard.

And every leaf of fire lets go,
Melting in the arms of earth and snow.
And if I could hold you now,
You'd enter like a sigh.
You'd be the wind that blows
The answer to "why?"
You'd be the spring-filled trees
Of every December sky.

--Beth Nielsen Chapman, Deeper Still, 2002