Rhymes and Reasons - the poetry of John Denver

New makeover on Living Wittily. I stayed with the Art Nouveau red for a while. But sunshine and blue skies lighten it up and I'll stay with it for a while. Speaking of which, right now there isn't a cliud in the Aberdeenshire sky as I look over towards the hill line.

There hasn't been a poem posted for a while - so here's one that happens to be a favourite song by the singer I listen to most - John Denver. It came up recently in conversation, I know it by heart, and it is as ethically and humanly to the point as it was when it was written in the immediate aftermath of Vietnam and in the Cold War.

Given the global climate of conflict, polarised ideologies and danger to our human future, this song still pleads for different priorities.

 

So you speak to me of sadness
And the coming of the winter;
Fear that is within you now
It seems to never end'
And the dreams that have escaped you,
And the hope that you've forgotten,
You tell me that you need me now,
You want to be my friend.

And you wonder where we're going
Where's the rhyme and where's the reason
And it's you cannot accept
It is here we must begin
To seek the wisdom of the children
And the graceful way of flowers in the wind

For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Could clear a cloudy day
Like the music of the mountains
And the colours of the rainbow
They're a promise of the future
And a blessing for today

Though the cities start to crumble
And the towers fall around us
The sun is slowly fading
And it's colder than the sea
It is written from the desert
To the mountains they shall lead us
By the hand and by the heart
They will comfort you and me
In their innocence and trusting
They will teach us to be free

For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Could clear a cloudy day
And the song that I am singing
Is a prayer to non believers
Come and stand beside us
We can find a better way

Comments

[chris]

Like the new colour scheme! I've just switched templates after much agonising - felt I shouldn't identify myself by the format of my blog, but it still seems odd to me. It seems to have upset one of my commenters too ... never mind!