(Based on a poem by Mary Oliver)

Someone I once loved
gave me a chest of darkness
I stepped inside and died a thousand times
in sorrow – trapped inside, I didn’t know
what light would look like outside my window

But there wasn’t even one
Nor a crack to make me guess
Just sadness and some music
That was born nevertheless

This was a time in my life
when nothing much happened, I confess
But in quietness I went on a journey inside
A time when dreams were all that I had
Cause the truth I couldn’t bear
        I am aware
                   Somewhere…

I saw a secret at the bottom of the sea
Where no light exists but music still does
I didn’t know how far I was under
When I found the jewel
That made me wonder
how to turn away from cruel
With every breath I breath
Every word I speak
With every note I sing

And the silence within
Carried from then on
a secret of life
I was holding on so strong
That gift is the reason
That I am still alive
Now I must believe
That I can survive
And that my past is not my future
That my past is not my future

My past is not my future

© Ute Lemper