Kate Reid: Music
Identity
(Kate Reid)
This is my identity like clay on a potter’s wheel
Taking form as my life keeps spinning around, spinning around
It’s changing shape with these hands and expanding with every breath
I come closer to free each time I hold it close, each time I take that step
And I’m feeling stubborn again because I don’t want to jump off this cliff
Surrender feels scary and I just might lose my grip
Sometimes I feel afraid the music inside of me is just going to disappear
And I wouldn’t have anything left to write about, except maybe all of my fears
Bridge:
And my throat’s been blocked by you for too long to remember
But my songs are glue, they hold me together
And when I use my voice I can feel that the Spirits are near
And music is the thing that brought me here
When I read the stories and the poetry of women’s lives
It’s like looking through a window into the unspoken, knowing inside
Broken silence, truth finally splashed out on the page
The blood and tears of years of pent-up grief and rage
I lived underground, mired down in the belly of the Earth
But you know you gotta have your hands in the dirt if you want to grow something that’s worth it
I like digging in the dirt, pulling up weeds to free the soil
I like weeding my own garden, too, because I’m not afraid of my dirt no more
And I’ve fumbled a lot over the years with the people I have tried to love
And I stumbled upon some things about myself that nearly smothered me
And now, I feel the power in me and I sing, “I’m comin’ alive”
I’ve been blessed with this life and I know it’s finite, it’s precious and it’s wild
Bridge:
And when I’m outside, I feel safe and free
Standing at the foot of a wise, old Woman Cedar Tree
And, I’m gonna have a house by the sea like the one I walk by everyday
And I’m gonna buy me a piano and just play, play, play
One day, I’m gonna breathe a huge sigh of relief
Because I’m gonna give back all the good in my life that I have received
And now, I’m standing here doing my thing, I want to know if you’re doing yours
Can you hear that voice in your core, is there more way down deep in you?
This is my identity like clay on a potter’s wheel