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Passage from the Lesser Middle

by Tom Alter

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1.
Carthage 04:03
Turquoise sea Patient breeze A deep blue sky Ancient walls Do recall Our days passed by. Take my hand Let's both stand Where ghosts speak rhymes Tales of love And stories of Lives lost in time. Walking through Carthage Whispers and echoes in my mind. Footsteps in Carthage Leaving impressions Fading Swept away by winds in time. As you led To the edge Fell to my knees Time worn walls Chasm calls To capture me Threatening to capture me.
2.
Medium 05:00
I climbed the steps to the front door Trying to fight my second thoughts. I've had them before. I need to take this chance to hear you again. Tell me if this is real. Can I believe? Or is she a fraud? I take a seat and cut the deck. I try to hide that I'm a skeptic. I've been one before. I need to think that I can hear you again. I want so hard to believe That this thing is real And you're speaking to me. It goes against the shred of faith remaining. I try so desperately. And even if I leave here unbelieving, At least I tried. After a pause the medium spoke. The voice was her's the words were yours, Or so I was told. I want so badly just to hear you again. The voice said to let you go. Am I to suppose I could let you go? That's when I knew she was a fraud. I stood and put my money down And quickly was gone. I took this chance so I could hear you again But I knew you'd never say I should set you free. You know my love's just too strong. I hold onto a shred of faith remaining. I try so desperately. And even though you leave me solitary, I'll never shake you.
3.
The lone cypress in Ellen Browning Scripps Park Fell over and died last week and we cannot determine why. And the one who speaks for the trees is gone And the trees are still left without a voice And they are fighting for their lives. Is this another sign As the earth grows warm and the oceans rise? Is this another sign Like breaking ice and all the forest fires? Do we see the signs or cover our eyes? Do we cover our eyes? It's half a century since the Doctor said Keeping up like this is worthy of our dread And yet we haven't found a way. We vacillate and procrastinate We block our ears and turn our backs And pass this to another age. And we ignore the signs Like glaciers melting right before our eyes. We don't recognize The cypress loss could be another sign. So we cover our eyes. We cover our eyes. When a tree comes down so premature So exactly like what happened to the Ellen Browning Scripps cypress. Will we finally open up our eyes Or wait so long that we realize We're way too far past an "unless." Will we not see the signs The earth grows warm and the oceans rise? Will we now recognize The cypress loss is just another sign? Can we open our eyes? Open our eyes. Will we open our eyes?
4.
This morning, I found I very nearly wept In the first hour after I had slept. Eighteen minutes in black and white That ended with a crowding sky. And it made me think of you. Once I read a novel of a woman's life. From her memory to the day she died. Colors changing along the way, Yellow to orange and then to red. And it made me pray for you. So when I think of you. And all that we've been through, I give my thanks for you. I have seen a man sitting in the dusk Alone in silence with the TV off. He did not want the dialogue To remind him of the one he'd lost. And it made me thankful for you. So when I think of you, And all that we've been through, I give my thanks for you. So when I think of you, And all that we've been through, I give my thanks for you. And when I think you, And all that we've been through, Then I'm completely sure I always want to be with you. Every morning opening up my eyes And seeing you still by my side, It makes me say thanks for you.
5.
29 05:06
Just twenty nine when it was your time On a lonesome snowy road. You left behind a newfound widow child, Only nineteen years or so. To leave so much, life took too much And strung you on the line. In such short time You said so much And left at twenty nine. A string of pearls that you left behind Resonating still today. Like the single whipoorwill You left along the way. So all alone out on the road Did you mean to find A final poem to leave with us At only twenty nine? Not yet a glinting in the eye Of my father when you disappeared. I heard the stories of you life, Your songs down through the years. You cried so much But not enough, For anyone to save your life. What if your songs were desperate calls? Nobody answered the help line. To leave so much Life took too much And strung you on the line. In such short time You said so much And left at twenty nine.

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released November 1, 2019

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Tom Alter Detroit, Michigan

Tom Alter is a singer-songwriter based in Detroit. The influences of jazz, folk, pop, and Latin genres are found in his original compositions. Tom's lyrics mix world events with the affect on his personal ideals. He has released 3 EPs and 2 albums since 2019. His work can be found on digital and streaming music platforms. He is also a member of the duo After Blue.
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