Author Archives

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Horizon

stay, stay and rest my dear

you’re heavy with the sun

slow down

the horizon melting into one

here, here away and clear

salted waters run

soft, soft 

the horizon melting into one

soon, soon you will be the moon 

drawing my ocean

blue, blue

the horizon melting into one

by

Elbow

you have somewhere, you have somewhere you won’t go

you have somewhere you won’t step beyond

you have somewhere that you’ll know in the bend of your elbow

you won’t step beyond

we take our shape; fluid in a contoured glass

we don’t know who we are without its frame

we’re cool-blooded coils with no temperature of our own

how many shifted selves have we

from blazing sun to slicing cold?

but you have somewhere, you have somewhere you won’t go…

we are all swept up

swept up, kept up, dried up in it

from the blood of uniqueness of intuition

carved out from jagged spoons of peering pressure

a crisis of trajectory, of common consequence

like waiting out alone for tornadoes

but you have somewhere, you have somewhere you won’t go…

who are you? why are you?

how do you know how far you will go?

you have somewhere, you have somewhere you won’t go…

by

Crickets

step one, step two, step I think we’re here now

take three, plan for oh just a little more

I’m standing in the middle… of a field of eyes

and all I hear is

crickets 

it says open invite, just open in sight, see my outside’s keeping me outside

a room full of souls, but they can’t see mine

they’ve got me wishing love were blind

I’m here hangin’ on the air so it feels like we’re in now

shake hands, make nice, but still I’ve gotta ask twice

I’m standing in the middle of a field of eyes…

candles like fireflies, and a hundred-thousand eyes

and all I hear is

static

I wonder, I wonder how the fire flies

when all I hear is

my heart it beats it

can’t catch my breath

by

Clear Skies

we could move and we could glide

but we will take those clear skies

on the hill or by the shore

we will dare for more

when we walk through the fire we won’t burn

when we pass through the waters we’ll not be overwhelmed

when we open our arms to heal change

we’ll be met by strength

we will follow the path made in the sea

we will find the path made in the mighty waters

there’s a new thing here that we want to see

we will be, we will live set free

haven’t we been told not to fear

even though the way isn’t clear

if we hold our breath waiting here

this joy won’t be any more near

by

City Sons

come round our table

we care for, we share for our city sons…

we speak for, entreat for the broken ones

we weep for, we bleed for our mother’s sons

sons and daughters rich and poor

we’ve got to bind together and be more

oh fathers…

come round our city sons

(while living in Baltimore during Freddie Gray riots)

by

Downstream

I know you want more from life 

and you’re not wrong, but you’re not right

we may be blinded by what seems bright

before realize the gleam of possibility’s not so light

you might never get those wings, but you can still learn to glide

I know you’re tired of fighting upstream, so let’s just let it slide

and meet me downstream…

it’s easier than it seems

I can see how you may feel left penniless with what seems real

but if we pour out the treasure of right now, 

the sweetest things we can have, they will never sour

this might not be easy to hear, but the future is never here

and here is where we get to live, this moment has more to give

so won’t you let it live…

just once, just this once 

be 

you and me and all we see, with nothing in between

what if we let right now be the dream

if we close our eyes we might feel the moment gleam

by

So Good

we’d been there for so many years

how we tried to move past the tears

the skin had sealed, its scars were healed

but bones beneath were still broken

just now we’ve finally stopped choking

and it feels so good

we’ve plunged into a new odyssey

waking up better now than later

stronger than before

joy pours over me as a warm, golden flow

settles in as the edge of springtime

and it feels so good

like the warm sun or the cool rain

the embrace of a love who comes back again

like the sweet first taste of an awaited kiss

it feels so good

we’ve had our spell of surviving well

we’ve had our spell of surviving

now, now it feels…

by

Brighter

I have not beheld the good of life in ease

I have not beheld the beauty of living 

in ease

I have seen it 

in the contrast

with only health, only peace 

I’d be numb; blind

instead, they gain meaning

rushing waters of relief

restoration of peace

only after the storm 

this place so full of darkness 

pushes, forces

light to shine 

ever brighter

in that which is brighter

I see the hand 

some call God

by

Trina Coleman

Applicant

Improvised Music / Jazz – Jazz Voice

Individual Concentration – Jazz Voice

Lyrics

Brighter

So Good

Downstream

City Sons

Clear Skies

Crickets

Elbow

Horizon

My Cherie Amour – Stevie Wonder

Nature Boy – Eden Ahbez

Slip, Slipping – Maya Angelou

Additional Footage

Band – Revelation

Band – Elbow

Soul Choir – Sukuma

Classical Choir – Viva

I have not beheld the good of life in ease

I have not beheld the beauty of living 

in ease

I have seen it 

in the contrast

with only health, only peace 

I’d be numb; blind

instead, they gain meaning

rushing waters of relief

restoration of peace

only after the storm 

this place so full of darkness 

pushes, forces

light to shine 

ever 

brighter

in that which is brighter

I see the hand 

some call god