I opened up a file inside there was a file
Inside the file there was a file
There was a file inside the file
There was a file inside the file
There was a file inside that said
There’s no file found
There’s no there there, there’s no there there
There’s no there there, there’s no there there
All I want, all I want
Is the beat of the heart and the wind in the trees
And the cry of the hawk and the hiss of the sea
And the sound of the rain when it finally begins
The trickle of sweat, the smell of her skin
The laugh out loud, the hammer, the nail
The river, the sun, the catch of the sails
All I want, all I want is something real

I dialed a number for assistance
A voice said please choose from the menu
I made a choice and then a voice said make a choice
I made a choice I got no voice
I got a dial tone

There’s no there there there’s no there there
There’s no there there, there’s no there there
All I want, all I want
Is the bed and the window, the chair, the stone
The wound where it heals, the long night alone
The pluck of the string, the song in the air
The beat of the drum. the truth laid bare
The snow. the ice, the leaf as it falls
The open door and the road that calls
All I want All I want is something real

I fear we’ve lived up to our fears
Just running down this hall of mirrors
Our thoughts are digitized
These ittle bits that whir and whine
We try to hold them in our hands
they slip away like time, like sand
When all’s been done and all’s been said
We end up living in our heads

There’s no there there, there’s no there there
There’s no there there, there’s no there there
All I want, all I want
Is the cut of the knife, the flower that blooms
The open hand, the pull of the moon
From winter to spring, the growth the birth
The death, the loss, the groan of the earth
The gaze of the eye, the fire that burns
The heart that turns
The heart that turns

© Bill Harley, all rights reserved. Reprints with permission only.