Circle of Light

Song Cycle by Jodi Goble (b. 1974)

1. I throw my life like a stone into the Infinite
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
I throw my life like a stone into the Infinite, 
and it ripples out, over and over again, in ever-widening circles. 
I may not live to close the last of them, 
but I want to try. 
I am the satellite of the ancient arm 
that thrusts the hand of God into the air. 
Round the outstretched palm of the Divine I wheel, 
a thousand years gone, a thousand more in front of me, 
and as I turn I wonder: 
am I a bird of prey? am I a summer storm? 
am I a full-throated song?

Text Authorship:

  • by Jodi Goble (b. 1974), copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.

2. Put out my eyes, I still can see you
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Put out my eyes, I still can see you, 
Cover my ears, I hear your voice inside them. 
And with no feet, I still could find my way to you, 
and with no tongue, invoke you like a prayer. 
Break off my arms, I’ll still embrace you, 
make of my heart a fist to hold you fast. 
Stop my heart, my brain will beat its rhythm. 
Set me afire, and still I’ll keep you with me: 
cradle you and carry you, 
oh most beloved Passenger, 
with the last burning drops of my blood!

Text Authorship:

  • by Jodi Goble (b. 1974), copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.

3. You, darkness, who birthed me
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
You, darkness, who birthed me, 
who pushed me, blinking, into the morning, 
I love you more than I love the silken candle. 
Lovely as she is, she limits the tiny world in which she shines 
to her one bright small circle of light. 
But you, darkness, you hold everything: 
flame, design, people, creatures, 
princes and powers, rivers and planets … 
and me, too, just as you find them. 
You feel like a great strong heart, 
calmly beating all around me. 
You, darkness, who cradled me, 
who nudged me gently into the morning, 
I believe in you. I believe in the night.

Text Authorship:

  • by Jodi Goble (b. 1974), copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Based on:

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Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.

4. I believe in all the silent words
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
I believe in all the silent words that have never been said. 
My longing is pure. I want to set it free
so that which no one has dared to ask before 
will come to me, on its own, without coaxing. 
Tell me, Universe, is this too much to ask? 
If so, forgive me. 
But let me say to you before I go: 
I want the force of me to be unstoppable, 
no holding back, no expectations, 
Love in a rush, like children love, 
freely flowing, streaming everywhere, 
like no one has or will again, 
full-hearted, arms flung wide, 
sung to you at the top of my lungs into the open sea.

Text Authorship:

  • by Jodi Goble (b. 1974), copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Based on:

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Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.

5. You only have to be able to do one thing
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
You only have to be able to do one thing: 
fall, and be gentle with your heaviness. 
Even birds have to test their weight 
against the gravity of the earth 
as they learn to fly.

Text Authorship:

  • by Jodi Goble (b. 1974), copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Based on:

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Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.

6. Wings! I’m coming home!
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Wings! I’m coming home 
from the euphoria of having wings! 
I lost myself in singing. 
I myself became the song, 
and the rhymes of the Universe rang in my head like bells. 
Now I’m myself again, small and simple, 
and I don’t have any more words. 
To the others, watching, I was like the wind, 
pushing them and shaking them, 
spiraling up beyond sight, 
where it’s high enough to melt the light to nothing. 
I’m back now, just me, resting in darkness, without my song. 
But I’m not alone there.

Text Authorship:

  • by Jodi Goble (b. 1974), copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Based on:

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Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.

7. We’re spoken to as we are made,
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
We’re spoken to as we are made, 
then walked out silently into the light. 
What are the words, cloudy and primordial, 
hazy and half-remembered, 
dug from the murky ooze of our beginnings? 
Go, says the Voice. 
Go beyond the reach of your senses. 
Go to the edge of your longing. 
Make seen the Unseen, make known the Unknown. 
Be the flame that casts a shadow 
big enough to build a life in. 
Let everything happen to you, good and bad. 
You just have to do it. 
No feeling is closest, and none is the farthest away. 
I’m here; there’s no way you can lose me. 
That place is called Life, right over there. 
It’s waiting for you. 
You’ll know when you see it, 
and everything starts to happen for real. 
Give me your hand.

Text Authorship:

  • by Jodi Goble (b. 1974), copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Based on:

Go to the general single-text view

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.

Total word count: 660