The Dry Salvages (Pt. III)

[Pt. II here]
by T.S. Eliot

I sometimes wonder if that is what Krishna meant—
Among other things—or one way of putting the same thing:
That the future is a faded song, a Royal Rose or a lavender spray
Of wistful regret for those who are not yet here to regret,
Pressed between yellow leaves of a book that has never been opened.
And the way up is the way down, the way forward is the way back.
You cannot face it steadily, but this thing is sure,
That time is no healer: the patient is no longer here.
When the train starts, and the passengers are settled
To fruit, periodicals and business letters
(And those who saw them off have left the platform)
Their faces relax from grief into relief,
To the sleepy rhythm of a hundred hours.
Fare forward, travellers! not escaping from the past
Into different lives, or into any future;
You are not the same people who left that station
Or who will arrive at any terminus,
While the narrowing rails slide together behind you;
And on the deck of the drumming liner
Watching the furrow that widens behind you,
You shall not think 'the past is finished'
Or 'the future is before us'.
At nightfall, in the rigging and the aerial,
Is a voice descanting (though not to the ear,
The murmuring shell of time, and not in any language)
'Fare forward, you who think that you are voyaging;
You are not those who saw the harbour
Receding, or those who will disembark.
Here between the hither and the farther shore
While time is withdrawn, consider the future
And the past with an equal mind.
At the moment which is not of action or inaction
You can receive this: "on whatever sphere of being
The mind of a man may be intent
At the time of death"—that is the one action
(And the time of death is every moment)
Which shall fructify in the lives of others:
And do not think of the fruit of action.
Fare forward.
                              O voyagers, O seamen,
You who came to port, and you whose bodies
Will suffer the trial and judgement of the sea,
Or whatever event, this is your real destination.'
So Krishna, as when he admonished Arjuna
On the field of battle.
                                   Not fare well,
But fare forward, voyagers.

[Pt. IV here]

The Song Is You

by Oscar Hammerstein II

I hear music when I look at you
A beautiful theme of every dream I ever knew
Down deep in my heart I hear it play
I feel it start, then it melts away

I hear music when I touch your hand
A beautiful melody from some enchanted land
Down deep in my heart, I hear it say
Is this the day?

I alone have heard this lovely strain
I alone have heard this glad refrain
Must it be forever inside of me?
Why can't I let it go?
Why can't I let you know?

Why can't I let you know
The song my heart would sing?
That beautiful rhapsody
Of love and youth and spring

The music is sweet
The words are true
The song is you

Tesla

by John Flansburgh

Tesla
Brought the X-ray photo to the world
Brought the AC power to the world

Here is a mind that can see across space
Here is a mind soaring free
Sound turns to light and light turns to waves
And waves turn to all things perceived
Maybe that knowledge would drive one insane
How can that knowledge be tamed?

Tesla
Ushered the radio wave into the world
Ushered the neon light into the world

The Hotel New Yorker, he's dead on the floor
The body of Nikola lies
With just his papers, no family to tell
Out of the windows birds fly
Under an X-ray of Mark Twain's skull
The plan for the death-ray's design

Tesla
Brought the radar detection to the world
Ushered remote control into the world
Ushered the bladeless turbine into the world
Ushered the neon light into the world

Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye

by Cole Porter

Ev'ry time we say goodbye
I die a little
Ev'ry time we say goodbye
I wonder why a little
Why the gods above me
Who must be in the know
Think so little of me
They allow you to go

When you're near there's such an air
Of spring about it
I can hear a lark somewhere
Begin to sing about it
There's no love song finer
But how strange the change
From major to minor
Ev'ry time we say goodbye

This Will Be Our Year

by Chris White

The warmth of your love
Is like the warmth from the sun
And this will be our year
Took a long time to come

Don't let go of my hand
Now darkness has gone
This will be our year
Took a long time to come

And I won't forget
The way you held me up when I was down
And I won't forget
The way you said, 'Darling, I love you'
You gave me faith to go on

Now we're there
And we've only just begun
This will be our year
Took a long time to come

The warmth of your smile
Smile for me, little one
And this will be our year
Took a long time to come

You don't have to worry
All your worried days are gone
This will be our year
Took a long time to come