You Know How I Feel

We've all got this precarious life thing goin' on 
Most days are like most other days
With enough variety to keep us 
Walking on 
to even keep us entertained

Well, 
on just such a one of those days
I was looking out over the fields
the hay was rolled and drying
when a sudden burst of sparrows
twirled and spun up into the sky
and at that moment I felt so 
in it

like even though I couldn't fly
and I would never know
what it feels like to spontaneously flit
I thought....

Birds flying high
you  know how I feel

When the last flare of bright sun 
took over the sky
and the hills beyond the pasture  
cast long shadows across
what was left behind
I stood there and thought....


Sun in the sky
you know
how I feel

Out by the swamp
swarms of speckled winged insects
hovered over the water
An expanse of cattails swayed
and it struck me....

Reeds driftin' on by
you know how
I feel

And when lavender
wrapped the starlit sky

and the moon adorned 
with sparkle and glow
every bit of what was left untamed
I thought....

Its a new dawn
Its a new day
Its a new life
for me

And I'm feeling
good

When I used to listen to this song
the first thing that came to me
when I heard the lyrics
was that the song addresses some one else
Another person who has felt this way
Another person who has experienced a moment like this

And then I began to hear it differently
It was an audible moan
describing how integral we all are to this existence


all of the time

the lyrics changed and 
there was no longer another person
in the audience
because the meaning of sharing this
beauty
this life
was extended to every living thing
to every part of the life cycle

as though all of life was the listener


Fish in the sea
you know
how I feel

River running free
You 
know how I feel

Blossom in the tree 
You know how I feel

Its like we all get up
everyday
like we're goin' to school
or we're going to work
and we make our lists
and we figure it out
the best way we can

and the only thing that makes it all worth it
worth all of it

is that sense of pure elation
that wonder we feel
when we are 
being in the moment

and appreciating how fleeting
this all is

Dragon fly out in the sun
You know 
What I mean


Butterflies all havin' fun
You know
What I mean

Sleep in peace
when day is done
That's what I mean

 And this old world is
a new world
and a bold world 
for me


I don't know why the world is the way it is
Its been this way a long time
Longer than I've been alive

Stars when you shine
you know how I 
feel

Scent of the pine
You know how I feel

Oh Freedom is mine
And I know how I feel

its a new dawn
its a new day
its a new life
for me

And I'm feelin' good

Some times life is all lopsided
and when it gets like that
and its hard to see where I'm going
and some times
I just keep going
even when I don't know
where to go next
And yet,
I keep coming back to this....

this is all so fragile and so
precious
why not make the best of it
every day
while I'm here

I mean yeah,
some people might say
if this is it, this is all there is
why bother being good?
But I see it differently
I think what actually matters

is how we live and 
how we appreciate every new day

look, some times shit is going to fall
and seeing through it is pretty rough when its happening

but during those times
when love and hope
and a sense of gratitude for just being alive
settles on my shoulders

I can almost feel 
what its like
to fly in the sky
to be free

that's what I really love about life

I wish that feeling lasted all of the time
but it doesn't
still and yet,
those ordinary moments

are the closest I'll ever get to that
bird flying high thing

I've known elation
the kind you get from being grateful 
for having one more minute
to see another sunrise
or another winter snowstorm 
to dig the ebb and flo'
to look into the eyes of a loved one
and find home there

and I have known quiet desperation
in the hollows
of every
recess of my mind and body

Maybe that's why I really feel
this song 

"Feeling Good "

Performed by, Nina Simone


I got to thinking
What if I didn't know what those words meant?
Would that song mean as much to me?
Would it be the same?
Would I feel it the same way?

And I got to thinking
I probably would
that's the beauty of music
that connection
we don't have to explain it
to understand
or even have the ability to express it
because we can feel it

And I feel good

Life is this precarious wobbly thing
one minute its an effortless flight
and the next it might be all we can do
to take another breath
or have enough drive
to want to get off the ground

so I'm grateful that this is a good
uneventful moment
and 
I hope for another day of this
one more day
that's all

that's all