VEGANGELICA

How's it going, MB people? I hope you are well.

Today I'm sharing lyrics for a folk song, "Bloom," that I wrote over the last 2 weeks, partly inspired by MusicBanter. Three sources of inspiration for writing this song were the following:

(1) Zevokes and I were chatting over in his songwriting thread about the dreams children have for their future. This made me think of writing a song about childhood dreams and what happens when they aren't fulfilled.

(2) The saying, "Bloom where you are planted." I always liked this saying, which I think is a good life philosophy, but it raises the question: what happens when you know the place you are planted doesn't provide as many nutrients or sunlight for you to bloom as well or as fully as you know you are capable of doing? Vanilla was talking about hardships in life and how people deal with them, so this made me think about the limitations of the lives into which people are born.

(3) I wanted to use a line from a poem I wrote after the end of a relationship over ten years ago: "I made love to you in dreams I dreamed of having but didn't, and you still held my hand, even when you knew." So, I ripped this line out of the poem to use it in the song, "Bloom."

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"BLOOM" by Erica

Sweetness hovers around me like nectar
from the lilacs I planted by the window,
but in the distance I can see
the forest beckoning to me,
and I am trying not to go.

In my fenced-in garden herbs are thriving.
I can watch them flourishing, nourished by the sun.
And I enjoy the sight of them
although a lovely garden
was not a thing I wished for when young.

Now I make love to you in dreams
I dream of having but never do.
I give birth to children from my empty womb.
Stand still by you in photographs
while I move a thousand miles away
from where these prosaic lilacs bloom.

I have practiced good companion planting:
beans by corn by cucumbers and yellow marigolds.
Funny, after all I did,
what I really wanted
isn’t what this lovely garden holds.

I have done my best, given my choices,
to surround myself with beauty, making my life full,
but sometimes what you most hope for
is someone with whom you feel more
of a thing intangible.

I thought carefully through all my options,
considering which characteristics to assess.
Funny, what I miss sounds small.
I never wanted a garden at all.
I just yearned for some wilderness.

Now I make love to you in dreams
I dream of having but never do.
I give birth to children from my untouched womb.
Stand still by you in photographs
while I move a thousand miles away
from where these prosaic lilacs bloom.

Oh I made love to you in dreams
I dreamed of having but didn’t.
I gave birth to children from my untouched womb.
Stood still by you in photographs
while I moved a thousand miles away
from where those prosaic lilacs bloomed.

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