Description
Part of the AIDS memorial songbook, this melody for tenor voice and piano has an orginal text by the composer:
It was still dark.
The dawn had not yet arrived.
He stood quietly, looking out over the field.,
soon to be filled with patches of grief.
Monuments to great men,
grey against the pre-dawn sky,
reminded him of the Great Dream:
"We are all equal under Law", it promised.
"We are all equal under Law".
He smiled wryly at the thought.
The keepers of that Dream still keep it for themselves,
only- releasing what little part what group or another
can wrest away.
The unfolding began.
Each patch holds the grief of dozens:
friends, family.
Amercia's children left to die alone.
Amercia's children left to die
because of who they were, who they had to be.
Fully open now.
Small groups wander here and there.
searching, looking,
Afraid that the edges wait for them.
Afraid that the edges wait for them.
Some already gathering scraps of cloth.
Finally, he moves at last.
Finally with enough courage to go look.
His thoughts warmly dwell on him who made it.
The one whose devotion was unquestioned.
whose love was always present.
Having seen it, he was cotent to move on to
whatever was to come.
His patch was there.