you can stay

Those spiritual poets are such jokers!

Inspired by leafing through The Enlightened Heart, edited by Stephen Mitchell.

lyrics

Lao-tze, Rumi, and Rilke
walk into a bar
this time they say nothing
they get served just as they are
Dogen walks in behind them
the bouncer asks for ID
he pulls a shard of mirror
looks deep, and says “it’s me”

    you can stay here if you want,
    but it’s time to go home
    it’s time to go home
    you can stay here if you want,
    but I’ll walk you home

i walk in centuries later
never know just what i want
somebody does me a favor
puts a half empty glass down in front
i watch the careful hands
at the row of handles they pull
and i notice as i’ve been sitting
mine’s now half full

    you can stay here if you want,
    you can stay here if you want,
    you can stay here if you want,
    and never leave home

you can stay here if you want,
    has your sediment settled?
you can stay here if you want,
    are you clear?
you can stay here if you want,
    are you ready to go?
are you ready to stay?
    are you ready to stay?

parts

tjw: 12-string guitar, electric bass, vocals, djembe, drum pad

Image: Glass Half Full? by Andrew Wilkinson