On the Poetry Friday that took place on June 30th, 2022. I shared the inaugural Poetry of Music post and stated I wanted to share songs that were more like poems set to music about once a month or so. 6 months later, here I am sharing the next installment. I landed a lot closer to the or so part of my prognostication than the once a month part.
Today's song comes from the late Mark Heard, producer, singer, songwriter, and poet all wrapped into one. Mark Heard died in the Summer of 1992 a few weeks after having a heart attack while performing at the Cornerstone Music Festival in Bushnell, Illinois.
My last post contained a bit of a lament on some of the present difficulties associated with my life at this time. The Pain That Plagues Creation is a haunting reminder that while life is fraught with difficulty it also equally fraught with hope..
The Pain That Plagues Creation
By Mark Heard
As this planet falls around the sun
Trapping us in the orbit
Creation groans in unison
Like a race of frightened orphans
The darkness of this raging storm
Is covering up our portals
But a yearning for the light is born
In the heart of every mortal
And day to day we ache
With the pain that plagues creation
Night to night we lie awake
And await its restoration
Heaven knows our lonely ways
Heaven knows our sorrows
Heaven knows the things that we don't know
And the joy of eternal tomorrows
But through this glass we dimly see
This world as it was made
And the good we know must surely flow
From the heart of a kind creator
And day to day we ache
With the pain that plagues creation
Night to night we lie awake
And await its restoration
So hold on in this restless age
And do not fear your shadow
Your alternating tears and praise
Are prayers that surely will matter
And day to day we ache
With the pain that plagues creation
Night to night we lie awake
And await its restoration
The Pain that Plagues Creation appears on the Mark Heard album, Eye of the Storm. You can find the lyrics by clicking here.
Thanks for Catherine Flynn for hosting this weeks Poetry Friday at Reading To The Core.
Thanks also to my wife Amy for listening to me read the lyrics to her even though we had already said good night.
Love, Dave
