Feel the sun in my eyes
Swat that clumsy fly
Woke me up from a dream about Heaven
Smellin' coffee downstairs
Yawn a quick little prayer
And get up at a quarter to seven

Mirror catches my stare
Got some nice pillow hair
And I smile all the way to the bathroom
Scratch my whiskery chin
Now my cranium swims
With questions I can't wait to ask You

...Like why did You bother with so many stars?

I would take no for an answer

Just to know I heard You speak

And I'm wonderin' why I've never

Seen the signs they claim to see

Are the special revelations

Meant for everbody but me?

Maybe I don't truly know You

Or maybe I just simply believe

'Cause I can sniff, I can see

I can count up pretty high

But these faculties aren't getting me

Fading memories ignored
I crawl across the forest floor
Pool reflects an orphan child
Dirty, lost, alone and wild
Fatherless and nameless still
Fallen heart and broken, will
there ever be a place where I belong

I cower ‘neath the monster trees
And try to stand on tired feet
But gravity knocks me to the ground
Where I give up, and tears roll down
I claw the dust and beg the end

He shares a room outside with a dozen other guys
And the only roof he knows is that sometimes starry sky
A tattered sleeping bag on a concrete slab is his bed
And it’s too cold to talk tonight
So I just sit with him instead and think

How did I find myself in a better place
I can’t look down on the frown on the other guy’s face
‘Cause when I stoop down low, look him square in the eye

I’ve come to my senses
How did I get so far from home
The lies dissipating
Revealing I’m so alone
And I remember now how strong love can be
And I wonder how did I ever leave

Burn your fire on the altar
Leave a candle on the porch
I’m still too far away to see it
But I’m aching for its warmth
And I’m so tired and cold and dark and lonesome
But still I hear your song inside

He rode his wagon into town
A gaudy spectacle
And every gray November brought him there
Always entertaining
Prestidigitating
Pulling rabbits from thin air

He would wave his magic wand
He would say the magic words
Working up a miracle
Puttin’ on a show
Changing what I thought to be
Unchangeable reality
Wish I had a magic wand of my own

Now twenty-three Novembers later
The prestidigitator

Standing on the edge of the dock
With the wind in our faces
Been watchin’ the waves roll in
And it feels like we’re sailing
Now Russell chimes in with his youthful imagination
What if we saw him there
Walking out on the water?
No time for splashing around in shallow theology
He just invited us out into the deep simplicity

And I’m sailing with Russell
Chasing that heartbeat

Fresh page, new pen
Where do I begin
Words fail, tears come
I need someone
To take the thoughts I almost think
And carry them to God for me

Deep breath, exhale
Breathe in deeper still
Long sigh, I’m still numb
Is there anyone
Who can find the things I’m barely feeling
And give them wings beyond my ceiling?

Right heart, wrong place
It’s too far to outer space

Another night slips away
As the events of the day
Keep burning deep in your mind
Why can’t you leave them behind
And there’s no one there in the dark
To share the ache in your heart
But no matter where you are
You’re not really alone

Somebody’s watchin’ that lonely heart inside

Every day is a journal page
Every man holds a quill and ink
And there's plenty of room for writing in
All we do is believe and think
So will you compose a curse
Or will today bring the blessing
Fill the page with rhyming verse
Or some random sketching

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much

Fading memories ignored
I crawl across the forest floor
Pool reflects an orphan child
Dirty, lost, alone and wild
Fatherless and nameless still
Fallen heart and broken, will
there ever be a place where I belong

I cower neath the monster trees
And try to stand on tired feet
But gravity knocks me to the ground
Where I give up, and tears roll down
I claw the dust and beg the end