Old Patterns
Lyrics and melody ©1999 by Catherine Faber
Patterns of patterns may alter and
merge
Persisting long after their subjects diverge,
Shaping the growth to come after as well:
The bend of a tree or the curve of a shell.
Old patterns, like cards to
be played,
Not easily altered, but just overlaid;
Old patterns never quite fade.
Bequeath what you have is the law of the
gene
So in the descendants the parents are seen,
But drifting alleles may combine to expose
A fly with four wings, or a colt with three toes...
Tongues that diverge can be traced word
by word
In patterns of sounds that are softened or slurred
While meanings they've shed make words rich to the ear
Persisting like echoes that scholars can hear...
By nature, the patterns that shaped how
we live
Still flavor the ways we transgress and forgive;
Like shadows cast over the face of the scene
Ghost pictures burned into an old phosphor screen.
Forgive me the patterns that make it so
hard
To reach for your love with a heart love has scarred
I know you have no way to fathom or place
Old joys and old hurts my reactions retrace--
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