I have done a good bit of traveling in recent years, and I've been fortunate enough to see some amazing things. When images particularly struck me, I wrote them down and recently, I put them all together into this song. I hadn't had a title for it for a long time and at a recent gig at the Berwyn Cafe, the audience picked the title by a show of hands (it was pretty much unanimous). The song is just me, a cappella, with a break at which point I play native american flute. Sometimes, however, I'm lucky enough to have percussionists join me on this song, and then it's magic. (The first and third verse of this song will appear on my upcoming release: "Sound the Deep Waters." I will add the middle verse to the next album. I envision that as I continue to have more and more adventures on this beautiful home of ours I will add to the song and release it in its new form for each subsequent CD.)

Enjoy.

Gaia Speaks

Coyote calls to a scarlet night
The desert sings in dark delight
Raven cries "Hark" to the wind
The gold trees their own message send

The mountains give a wise reply
Green ferns unfurl a lullaby
Salmon leap sweet serenade
The oceans' roar their words conveys

(flute break)

Green rolling hills langorously lie
Cloud giants sleep across the sky
The silent soil teems with verdant life
And sunset flares the horizon's fire

Stone circles mark ancient fairy rings
Cliffs grandly hang where land begins
Lightning flies giving thunder birth
And thunder roars upon the earth

(flute break)

The morning mist holds flowers close
Early larks recite dawn's prose
The sunlight pours upon the land
Reflecting rainbow-colored sand

Fallen leaves whisper secret truths
Star-filled skies restless Luna soothe
Great mother bear cradles frightened young
Gaia speaks in myriad tongues

(flute break)

The lines come from:

"Coyote calls..." (El Paso, Texas, USA)
"The desert sings..." (Death Valley, Nevada, USA)
"Raven cries..." (Baltimore, Maryland, USA)
"The mountains give..." (Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA)
"Green ferns unfurl..." (Greenbelt woods, Maryland, USA)
"Salmon leap..." (Alaska, USA)
"The oceans' roar..." (Half Moon Bay, California, USA)
"Green rolling hills..." (Near Kilkenney, Ireland)
"Cloud Giants sleep..." (Ohio, USA)
"The silent soil..." (Tennessee, USA)
"And sunset rings..." (Florida, USA)
"Stone circles mark..." (Slea Head, Ireland)
"Cliffs grandly hang..." (Cliffs of Moher, Ireland)
"Lightning flies..." (Maryland, USA)
"And thunder roars..." (Maryland, USA)
"The morning mist..." (Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan)
"Early larks..." (Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA)
"Sunlight pours ... rainbow-colored sand." (Crete, Greece)
"Fallen leaves..." (Durham, New Hampshire, USA)
"Star-filled skies..." (Randburg, South Africa)
"Great mother bear..." (Denali National Park, Alaska, USA)
"Gaia speaks..." (Greenbelt woods, Maryland, USA)