Since I've seen a few poems posted here from time to time I thought that I would add one of my own songs. I wrote it about two years ago for Paul (now out of prison). It was inspired by a lot of the things he told me on the phone and in letters. When I sent it in to him he was really pleased and said he loved it. In fact he loved it so much that it got passed around almost the entire population of the prison he was in. How do I know that? Often when Paul rang me he would put his friends on the phone just so that they could have a conversation with an Aussie and they use to tell me that they liked that song too. Now that made me feel proud!
Now for those of you who'd like to read it please be warned as it is quite long


WINDS OF CHANGE

There’s no chains around me
Still I feel like I’m bound
I can move
But can’t leave
To go anywhere
This nightmare I live in
Chills me through to soul’s core
Shrouding my spirit
In a deep shade of sorrow
Though for the moment
It’s my cross to bear

I want to climb up a mountain
Watch an eagle in flight
Hike into a canyon
See stars shining bright

I look to the day
I’ll be set free
And when those prison gates open
Beyond them will be a world
That’s calling for me

I’ve often wondered
Where life went wrong
Fate dealt a bad hand
Injustice dragged me down
Betrayal burned me so badly
It’s torn my flesh
Right from the bone
And the taste of this bitterness
Is carried way deep inside
As fragments of a lost past
Dance around in my mind

I’d like to bathe in the ocean
Sit in the glow of a campfire light
Sleep under the moon
Hear wolves howl by night

At the turn of a key
Will come my release
And when those prison gates open
I’ll be facing a world
I’ll be able to see

Death rides a black horse
I’ve seen it and prayed
For those young and old
Gone to the grave
But I’m a survivor
My heartbeat is strong
And the message is plain
It comes to me clear
Voices of freedom
Echoed down through the years
Emphasize my desire
To get out of here

I wish to walk with the earth
Stirring under my feet
Feel the wind and rain on my face
Soak up summer’s heat

I’ve dealt with these trials
Amid such hope and fear
And when those prison gates open
My place in the world
Should become crystal clear

I dream of a lady
Half a world from me
Whose love comes like music
On a soft morning breeze
While she’s never been here
She still has the power
To extinguish my pain
And the passage of time
Keeps bringing her closer
But until we’re together
I’m resigned to the madness
Of enduring this hell
On my own

I crave the touch of this woman
So gentle and warm
To be loved through the hours
Well into the dawn

Sometime in the future
I can follow my destiny
And when those prison gates open
I’ll go out into a world
Still waiting for me

There is a beautiful place
I’m longing to be
Like an image from heaven
A serene homely cabin
Stands on a hillside
Surrounded by trees
Overlooking a valley
Where icy snow melts away
In a long winding stream
While behind these gray wall
It’s just all fantasy
Eventually I’m sure
I’ll be as one with this scene

I need to listen to birds
Whistling tunes in the spring
Take in the changes of nature
And the wonders they bring

Once my time here is over
I’ll shed tears of relief
And when those prison gates open
I’ll embrace a world
That’ll be welcoming me

In a few years to come
Life will be normal again
I’ll get myself together
Relax, be at ease
Find value in laughter
Come and go as I please
And as winds of change
Carry old ghosts away
I’ll move on with honour
Vanquishing rivers of shame
Finally restoring the dignity
Mercilessly stripped from my name

Then I’ll work hard and strive
To win back my pride
So I can stand straight and proud
And be the man I want to be

As bad memories cease
A new clock will begin
And when those prison gates open
I’ll find myself in a world
Where I’ll learn to be happy again.


Copyright 2002 ML