Free Time
© June 14, 2022 Bob Anderson
From: On Letting Go

You can make believe you are free
That you've conquered your mortality
You keep hoping for a sign
As you sit around wasting time
But me I choose to work on my soul with mine
+Free time

    Can you walk the dancing spiral line
    Inbetween the yin and yang of time
    Have you reached enlightenment or
    Are you trapped in your mind?

You can watch TV or smoke dope
Neither one offers up much hope
You can play sports or sing in rhyme
It's what you do with your free time
But me I choose to work on my soul with mine
Free Time

    Can you walk the dancing spiral line
    Inbetween the yin and yang of time
    Have you reached enlightenment or
    Are you truly blind?

        Life is not a contest to win or lose
        It's more like a garden to grow what you choose
        I've seen so many lost in drugs and booze
        And then it's gone -- life's song -- washed away

The clock keeps turning round and round she goes
Where it stops no body knows
Are ya waitin' for the bell to chime?
Wonderin' how to spend your free time
But me I choose to work on my soul with mine
Free time

    Can you walk the dancing spiral line
    Inbetween the yin and yang of time
    Have you reached enlightenment or
    Are you caught in the grind?

For Emery and the Places in Her Heart
(For Granddaughter Emery, With Love)
© 1990/2025 by Bob Anderson
From: Serpent Power

There’s a place in your heart where you lock away your soul
A dark hidden corner where your mind rarely goes
Very few seem to have a key to this gate
And you never know who has one until it’s too late

There’s a place in your heart where you keep part of your friends
Upon their support you have come to depend
There’s a place in your heart where your confidence is stored
But until you find it you will often be ignored

    Move on, feel the strength of the sun in your veins
    You will see that you hold the reigns
    To the places in your heart

There’s a place in your heart where you’ve trapped all your fears
A hole that gets deeper as you pass through the years
The more you withhold, the worse it becomes
And when the dam breaks you’ll either grow or you’ll run

The problem with time is it moves by too fast
And sometimes it’s hard to tell the future from the past
There’s a place in your heart where your time clock beats
And when it stops I hope you find the peace that you seek

    Move on; find the power of the moon as she glows
    Casts her beams down to show
    You the places in your heart

        Slow down, what’s your hurry?
.       Work hard at what you want to be
        Try not to dwell on worry
        And save a place in your heart for me

There’s a place in your heart just for love you reserve
A small mighty fortress you work hard to preserve
Someday you’ll understand there aren’t any doors
Everything is open and everything is yours

One day the world will unfold between your eyes
And for the first time you’ll see truth through the lies
You’ll laugh when you see the patterns’ all the same
Although we think different we’re pretty much the same

    Move on, seek and follow a new found star
    You can never really stray too far
    From the places in your heart

Firebird
© April 14, 2023 Bob Anderson
From: On Letting Go

    You are already strong
    Your heart knows right from wrong
    Firebird change the world with your song

I've come to love rthe journey as I approach the end
There's nothin' left to prove and with no one to contend
I conquered the mountain by spiraling up the cone
I see it much clear, babe, I've got nothing to atone

Yet for my grandson Phoenix, I offer this advice:
Do your daily inner-work, try to avoid a fight
Trust your heart, not your mind, let love guide your way
Only do what must be done and limit what you say

    You are already strong
    Your heart knows right from wrong
    Firebird change the world with your song

Hope is not the answer and neither is belief
While anger offers power, it never brings relief
Happiness guarantees that sometimes you'll be sad
Just like things you think are good imply that there is bad

Learn about your chakras, open to the flow
We swim in a sea of shakti that most will never know
Your hara is your furnace, burn your anger and your pride
But life's a gift so don't forget to enjoy the wild ride

    Never make a promise that you don't intend to keep
    Remember what you sew will be what you reap
    Fly life's current with your wings spread wide
    You'll find that in everything there are cycles and tides

There's strength in meditation and quieting your mind
All that noisy chatter, just leave it behind!
Be grateful for your family and the simple things in life
Nothin' comes for free so be wise about what you strive

Let glimpses of insite shape your reality
Look behind occasionally; Be mindful of what you see
You won't always know the answers, so trust your heart to improvise
And know that when you need it most your power will rise!

    You are already strong
    Your heart knows right from wrong
    Firebird change the world with your song

Dreams of May
© June 26, 2022 Bob Anderson
From: On Letting Go

In the mansions of my mind
I wander 'round wondering, hoping to find
The answer to why I don't feel at home
I don't feel afraid, yet sometimes I do
Then I catch myself thinking of you
Never knoing how I can atone

Whispered wonders ringing in my ears
Sometimes so tenatious it brings me to tears
Creativity flows through me so strong
It gives me life, it changes my view
It makes me stronger and tells me what to do
But with you I always seem to be wrong

    I know that I'm never in control
    The best I can do is to go with the flow
    Every time I think that I've figured it all out
    Something breaks me down and I'm filled with doubt

Acts of service, acts of grace
So many people want to get in my face
I'm too old now to fight any more
Instead I move deep within myself
I sit in the quiet with nobody else
I learned to fly and now I soar

    I know that I'm never in control
    The best I can do is to go with the flow
    Every time I think that I've figured it all out
    Something breaks me down and I'm filled with doubt

        Please love don't be angry, I never know why
        I want us happy, tell me what to try
        I can't understand my troubled fate
        Just tell me, tell me, it's not too late

It's so hard never knowin' what to do
The things that I try are never right with you
You always seem so disappointed all the time
I've tried to change, to chase the divine
I try to catch you but I'm left behind
I don't know why I'm in this bind

When I trip, when I fall
When I pound my head against the wall
I know I can always come home to you
You don't seem to be going anywhere
I take it as a sigh that you still care
Just try to see some of the good things that I do

    I know that I'm never in control
    The best I can do is to go with the flow
    Every time I think that I've figured it all out
    Something breaks me down and I'm filled with doubt

Destiny
© 1985 Bob Anderson
From: Painter

A whispered voice heard faintly in a dream
Reminds me that there's more here than there seems
A castle in the clouds, the voices yelling loud
A star in the distance, gleams

Feelin' all alone surrounded by my friends
The chapters close but the story never ends
I can't stay mad at you and to myself be true
Yet change is just around the bend

    Destiny is fate that we control
    Thoughts in my mind become real
    I used to think that there were answers
    But now I just trust how I feel

The chain I wear I forged long and hard
It just occurred I could will it apart
I can change who I am, I can become a different man
The strength lies deep within my heart

Santa Clase and the Easter Bunny too
Are just other ways of thinkin' about truth
The magic's really there, believe it if you dare
And create a brand new “you”

    Destiny is fate that we control
    Thoughts in my mind become real
    I used to think that there were answers
    But now I just trust how I feel

River, rain, and tears all merge into one sea
The truth's out there, way beyond “reality”
The sighposts remind us not to look behind
The water shows us how to be free

You decide which mountain you will climb
But lettin' go will help you to unwind
There's magic in the air, you can feel it everywhere
Just remember to be kind

    Destiny is fate that we control
    Thoughts in my mind become real
    I used to think that there were answers
    But now I just trust how I feel
    Now I just trust how I feel
    Yea now I just trust how I feel
    I say, “Now I just trust how I feel!”

Deep Space
© October 20, 2004 Bob Anderson
From: Painter

You hide your angel body in a denim sack
You shine your armor every night to protect your back
And you hid you're heart so far away in deep galactic space
But I found it, if just a trace

Deepening shadows permeate the fall
So many stones collected to build your precious wall
But I'm patient, like the water, and in time I'll wear through
And I feel you invite me to

    Waiting calmly in the rain, gently whispering your name
    Hear it patter on the back of your brain

Little maples all along the high desert road
The creases in your palms have changed, go get your fortune told
And retrieve your heart from deep space , and wipe off all that shit
And let me hold it, for a little bit

Foest fires are a'-raging throughout the long and lonley night
My passion, caged, is starting to feel compressed and tight
The smoke is thicker when I walk closer by your side
And it makes me crazy… IT MAKES ME CRAZY INSIDE!

    Singung softly in the rain, sorting through degrees of pain
    What will I sing for the refrain?

I'm in for a nickel, I'm in for a dime
I can't promise forever but perhaps a lifetime
When souls connect this deeply it cannot be ignored
I know you hear me, POUNDING on your door!

I want to count the freckles that run up and down your back
I want to hear you cryin' when you're feeling bad
I want to be there with you when you paint your masterpiece
I want to share your victories and defeats

Take my hand let's leap out of a flying plane
We'll land in an adventure nothin' particular to gain
Let's go to France or India or maybe baby Timbuktu
Just let me be there… Let me be there with you!

    Let the rain go now it's done; Rainbow splashing through the sun
    Risk is part of what makes it fun!

    Go on throw open your door; You don't need that wall no more
    Now's the time to end your cold war

Carnival Fantastique
© May 26, 2022 by Bob Anderson
From: Serpent Power

Walking backwards, speaking without words
Sometimes I just spit into the wind
Pondering value, biting more than I can chew
I fight to be more disciplined!

I don’t ask to be forgiven; I don’t need to be redeemed
I love the life I’ve chosen, happy chasing my dreams
Out of the valley of shadows I climbed seeking out the light
I disposed of many burdens I found hidden inside

    What a fantastic carnival! I would do it all again!
.   I learned to take the good times with the bad
    'Cuz they’re all the same in the end

You can’t take it with you, except your progress
It’s not free this undertaking; there’s no end to success!
The beauty is that you don’t have to
You return until you choose to change
Free will and destiny are really one and the same

You can steer against the current; you can feel that you’re in control
You pretend that you’re important, Master of the dice you throw
But each cycle has an ending, you might buy a few years
And when it’s time to stop pretending, you can let go of all your fears

    What a fantastic carnival! I would do it all again!
    I learned to take the bad times with the good
    ‘Cuz they’re all the same in the end

Walking backwards, speaking without words
I fight to be more disciplined

Brown Paper Sacks
© 1982 by Bob Anderson
From: Serpent Power

All my cats, they have fleas; and my flowers, they have bees
All the birds I see, well they seem to have trees
And even the wind has the breeze
So what are ya searchin’ for, as you stand alone by the shore?
Of time and space, lookin’ at the human race
Haven’t you gone down that road before?
Yeah, haven’t you gone down that road before?
    And it all looks so real to me
    But it’s hard to take it seriously!

What would you say if I should ask
Who you are and where are ya’ at?
You’d give me names of all your favorite games
And expect me to respect all that!
I could try to be your friend, but it wouldn’t work out in the end
We don’t think the same, babe, we see from different frames
But I have a shoulder to lend
I have a wounded shoulder to lend
  And I don’t know what you think of me
  But it’s hard to take it seriously!

You carry your life in a brown paper sack
With all your guns and your ratified contracts
When will you stop pretending and just relax?
‘Cuz the heart of my soul you can’t tax!

Yet we seem to remain, the same even through our shame
Searchin’ for fame, playin’ the dangerous game
And always lookin’ for someone to blame
That’s why it’s so hard to relate
To why you store yourself in a crate
Wearing masks made of brown paper sacks
And always tryin’ to debate
You’re always tryin’ to debate fate!
  And I don’t know which version of the world you see
  But it’s hard to take it seriously!

You carry your life in a brown paper sack
With all your guns and your ratified contracts
When will you stop pretending and just relax?
‘Cuz the heart of my soul you can’t tax!
No the heart of my soul you can’t tax!

Prelude to Happiness
© 1985 Bob Anderson
From Serpent Power

They say that solitude brings one peace
And that emptiness brings one release
The quality of our life depends on how we feel
It’s a never ending task discovering what is real
These thoughts in my mind, writing in a bar room
Thinking of desolation, thinking of doom
That life is one grand play, each act unrehearsed
And every glass of beer left ya with more thrust
    And as I sat there drowning in despair
    Wondering why I lived so long
    A certain magic penetrated the air
    And swept me away, embraced my soul
    And sang a brand new song
        Magic always comes to mark ordeal’s end
        And at last the peace returns
        Like the first sunrise of a thousand hour night
        Once again the passion burns
        Once again the passion burns!

As I travel down the back streams of my mind
I find that everything forms a kind of rhyme
That my convictions were just obsessions
Misguided truths, or self-deceptions
There’s something in your smile that reminds me of the spring time
When the power returns, and I'm not snowblind
I think I’ve finally learned what it means to trust
I’ve regained my faith, life is not unjust
    Right down to the twinkle in your eye
    And the wisdom in your heart
    I think I’ve been hypnotized
    Because I can taste happiness
    And I know it is art
        Brief flashes of roads upon roads
        Of rooms within rooms
        It all makes sense now in a strange sort of way
        I think I’ve started to bloom
        I think I’ve started to bloom!

A Piece of You
© July 4, 2004 by Bob Anderson
From: On Letting Go

I said my “goodbye” to you
All indications screamed we were through
Big gear of time has rolled on me again
What I thought the beginning turned out the end
  But it simply was worse this time around
  In the torrent I damn sure nearly drowned
  So tell me what should I do with this piece of you? 
  What do I do with this piece of you?

I tried to run but it seems I can't hide
Fate had destined we should soon collide
I marveled at the coincidence
And I cursed at my goddamned sixth sense
  The black widow, she kills and eats her mate
  Makes me wonder if that too will be my fate
  So tell me what should I do with this piece of you? 
  What do I do with this piece of you?

    For a time I was lost in the spell
    I couldn't sleep, I didn't eat, didn't feel very well
    I can't believe you – you didn't feel it too!
    So what do I do with this piece of you?
    What do I do with this piece of you?

Why did you come to me in that dream?
Please don't pretend you don't know what I mean
Tough girl, doesn't need anyone
Yet you call me every time I swear we're done
  I keep waiting for you to realize
  We might be worth the sacrifice
  So for now, I'll hang on to this piece of you! This piece of you.

Well what do I do? (What do I do?)
With this piece of you? (What do I do?)
Are we through? (What do I do?)
I don't have a clue (What do I do?)
Let's rendezvous! And screw and screw and screw and screw and
Tell me what to do with this piece of you!