Tikkune

Tikkune

The crimes of body, heart and mind reflect
Upward into my soul. My spirit strains
To fly on high while tethered from below.

To make a change in spirit I must make
A change in how I live; the world of soul
Can not be whole if leaking like a sieve.
The holes in soul must be repaired before
It can begin to soar. To fill the holes
I made with thoughtless acts of years before,
I must atone for wrongs I’ve done. To free
My soul for flight I must begin with me.

And so I chant the Aleph-Beis and do
My work the best I can; I volunteer
My time to help advance my fellow man.
I question all my motives, I exa-
Mine all my fears. I keep my rage in check
So I won’t be the cause of others’ tears.
I strive to keep integrity in place
So I can give my soul a little grace.

With every act of good I do, my soul
Lifts up a little more. I know the day
Will come when it will finally learn to soar.

— Stace Johnson, 1997

New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day

My name is Edward Andrew, and I’m six years old.

You lie in the wheeled bed, puffy and pale
Riding the waves of morphine
(or is it Bartlett Lake?)
I help the illusion along.

Howdy howdy there, friends and neighbors!
This is El Monte Slim f’m El Monte Slim Chev’rlet …

A cough chokes you back awake,
Fear and confusion cloud your eyes
No, don’t speak; I point to the tube
You say goodbye with your eyes.

… I wait for delivery each day until three,
Oh Lord, woncha buy me a color TV?

A simple flick of the switch and my decision is final.
A few shuddering, spasmodic breaths and it is done.
You expire at my side, hand in my hand, my
Tears exposed in the glare of my own inadequacy.

See ya at the beach, Bro.

— Stace Johnson, 1997

Little Things

Little Things

(song lyrics)

Some people try to ignore or deny
The Magic of being in Love
They bicker and fight and sometimes they might
Even give their lover a shove

But we know the way to make Love stay
Is to let the trust flow
Support and respect have the effect
Of helping true Love to grow

(Chorus)
A note and a rose on a soft white bed
The warmth of your breath as you kiss my head
Candles flicker gently in the air
Little things we do add up to a Love that’s rare

It just takes a few moments with you
To turn a frown around
And when I stay for the rest of the day
My feet don’t touch the ground

The Love that we give helps us to live
Through the tough times
Through hardship and wealth, sickness and health
Our Love continues to climb

A note and a rose on a soft white bed
The warmth of your breath as you kiss my head
A tender smile when one of us is blue
Little things we do add up to a Love that’s true

(Instrumental Break)

A note and a rose on a soft white bed
The warmth of your breath as you kiss my head
A hug on a darkened baseball field
Little things we do add up to a Love that’s real

— Stace Johnson, 1994

Platonic Relationship

Platonic Relationship

Plato strove within the grove to teach
His young students of life
How one foot in the soot and one in the clouds
creates balance and lessens the strife

In our walk on the block path of
Personal growth.
Still, we’re rarely aware that to grow,
We need both

A fiery desire for spiritual things and an
Eye to agreements we’ve built.
All too often we soften commitments to one,
And in the other plunge deep to the hilt.

It is easy and pleasing to stay on the ground
Ignoring the ways to higher self
Or hang out in the clouds with our crystals and shrouds
Putting Earthly cares up on a shelf.

I stand with my hand ’round a disconnect tag
Left by some gone electrical truck,
Blink my eyes, realize that I’m stretching to grow
But my butt is stuck firmly in muck.

— Stace Johnson, 1993

Moonlight Scarenade

Moonlight Scarenade

(song lyrics)

He sat in the dark of a cold city park,
Dried tears shining clear in the starlight.
As the full moon rose, he rubbed at his nose
And began speaking out to the night.

“If I talk to the Moon about my fears
Maybe she can put and end to these tears.”
Well, the Moon said hello and began to climb slow
Over a mountain horizion.

“See, there’s this girl I respect, and I feel we connect
On a level below the waterline.
She’s been a good friend, and I hope that won’t end
If I tell her why I’ve been cryin’.

I’ve told you now, Moon, about one of my fears.
Tell me, what can I do to stop these tears?”
The Moon held her say as she went on her way
Across a starlight horizon.

“I’m not in a place where I can offer with grace
The feelings that I speak of,
But it would be a sin not to let her in
On the fact that I’m falling in love.”

Well, he told the full Moon about all of his fears
But she did not a thing to end his tears.
Instead, the Moon said good night as she slipped out of sight
Beneath a valley horizon.

As he sat in the park, shivering in the dark,
He knew the risk he had to face.
Their friendship was strong, and he knew it was wrong
Not to put his fear in its place.

He called to the Moon that he’d face his fears
And get on with his life despite the tears,
But the Moon was long gone, and he looked to the dawn
Tinting the eastern horizon.

— Stace Johnson, 1993