- George Waldrop- Life Is People
- Terri Hendrix- Prayer For My Friends
- Three Legged Fox- I Am (That I Am)
- HAIR Original Broadway Cast Album- Easy To Be Hard
- Rick Danko- People Of Conscience
- Eric Bibb- Get Onboard
- Solomon Burke- Like A Fire
- Richie Havens- Alone Together
- Greg Brown- Waiting on You
- Donna The Buffalo- In Another World
- Old Crow Medicine Show- Ain't It Enough
- J.B. Lenoir- God's Word
- Parliament- Oh Lord, Why Lord/Prayer
- Joan Baez- God Is God
- Iris Dement- Let The Mystery Be
- Adrienne Young- It's All the Same
- Lucinda Williams- Blessed (The Kitchen Tapes)
- Regina Spektor- Laughing With
- John Lennon- God
- George Waldrop- Serendipity of Mental Illness(Loneliness Has Taught Me)
- George Harrison- All Things Must Pass
Art of Goodness is my mix-tape used to describe my poem Serendipity of Mental Illness (Loneliness Has Taught Me). The poem was written in a time of my life that was very hard for me. I was going through doubts of chronic loneliness, isolation and depression. I suffer from mental illness but, my meds were working, I just lived deep in the country and would go for weeks at a time without seeing another person. This time in my life was a real learning experience cos I taught myself how to write about my feelings, to express my emotions with mix-tapes, poetry and listening to the right music. Yes, listening to good music is a great healer. I did a lot of listening to put this mix together. I gave it to many people, with much praise and feeling from others. Back in sept. 2012 I read my poem in front of many people at a recovery event with much good response to the words written. Art of Goodness was made later to go around the poem in time for the recovery event. This blog has been created to expand my feelings about these songs that I think fit together and say so much to my life, my beliefs & spirit. Here is my poem:
nothing is so healing as the human touch
even the strongest men are always alone
the emptiness is all in your mind
the space between succession of sensation
I'm not so naive in my thoughts of self destruction
conscious of my existence has touched my soul
I'm surprised to find all that is beautiful in my mind
expression is the meaning of art
refreshing my hope with this art of the mix
I have a disease, incorrectly functioning, without peace of mind
my soul needs the touch, squeezed until it shines
out shine the rain, break free and not easy to be broken
every little soul must shine along, along, soul-shine along
caress in a kiss all the loving that you miss
suffering and in need, my heart does bleed
it's the darkest before the dawn
taint long fo' daylight
yes,the light of day, features of colors, the light in her eyes
I find hope in the serendipity of my mental illness
the way god made me and all the blessings the maker intended
I can't blame or put fault in the great creator, originator of all of this
all of this life, makes me take it slow, I have to wonder why?
all these challenges
I won't regret all that life has taught me
all that loneliness has taught me
about what is sadness
about what is beautiful
I lived through all the tears
loneliness and pain
I stayed and faced it
with all the fear and pride in my heart
I am destined to fail
*All Things Must Pass Away*
each day I try and try again
I just don't want to make the same mistakes
misunderstand and have to do this all over again
my love has been revealed
I don't pretend not to know
what I'm supposed to be
Oh, have mercy on the lonely
be compassionate when you read my heavy heart
my poetry, my poetry
is all I got...
