American Traveler

Plans, dreams, and the past interface with our steps forward.  Lyrics based on my poem.

Lyrics
Tears drop 
To be replaced by another.

Love and sorrow
Flow together.
Down the lonely stream of life.

Brushed by the mild wind of our dreams
To cause bruises to raise and to swell.

Happiness is temporary
Like the cresting of the wave
In the stream I have chosen.

Brushed by the mild wind of our dreams
To cause bruises to raise and to swell.

Many other waters
Present themselves,
Going at different rates.
Some to match the calling of the wind,
Others opposing,
Gnarled and boiling from the confrontation.

We're brushed by the mild wind of our dreams
To cause bruises to raise and to swell.

Lyrics are written by Thomas Ask and are not AI created or guided.

Mild Wind of Our Dreams

An early poem from my traveling days when I spent a lot time observing. Lyrics based on my poem.

Lyrics
A visit to a far off land.
Of wandering feet and a trailing mind,
Of obstacles never too tall
The independence most important of all.

Down an alley or 
Through a hall
All with equally lusty draw,
Never a worry about tomorrow
Or the meaning of one's honor.

Striding forth with the blood of fire,
Curled lips and adventurous desire.
Aiming for life's real affection 
Of warm faces and production.

Leave behind the piles of paper,
Slowly moved but never missed.
The petty interactions of those without fire
To put themselves in an artificial spire.
I am young in this world,
Fighting the scourge of domestic waste.
The trumpet calling me home has waned
To my future I must make haste.

The Traveler

I always wonder if I made the best decisions. Lyrics based on my poem.

Lyrics
The wandering stream
Headed one way,
I dawdle in the banks
Until turned away.

I pass through some grasses
That stand through my flow.

I roll some sand around
That I touch and let go.

I gurgle over a rock,
Petting its shell.

Let the banks kiss my travel
And the sand feel soft.

I roll some sand around
That I touch and let go.

I wander a path
That I own.

Gurgle and swim 
I move on.

The wandering stream
Headed one way,
I dawdle in the banks
Until turned away.

I roll some sand around
That I touch and let go.

Lyrics are written by Thomas Ask and are not AI created or guided.

The Journey

A song I wrote about our declining mall. It is an allegory to my empty nest and fond memories of bringing the kids to this mall on hot summer days. I wrote the lyrics and developed the chord sequences. Song was produced by venn and vocals by Kathryn Juarez.

Whisper Sweet

Lyrics
I want bookends
on everything I do.

A gentle jolt
A landing in soft grass.

The start is easy
A dream and something
I can’t explain
That gets me out
Slays complacency.

The journey is harder
Trying not to race 
To the other bookend

The journey is harder
Trying not to race 
To the other bookend
But enjoying the walk
And sponging it in
To feed on later
Or perhaps just forget

But the moment can’t be stored
But flows

To the end
That bookend is dearest
Getting back to the start
Where I call home
With all in good order.

The journey is harder
Trying not to race 
To the other bookend.

It doesn’t always work that way
Sometimes the ending gives 
News that is sad.

Sometimes it leads to the 
Boring I left
But it’s sweet and precious
And sits on a shelf
Two golden bookends
And stories between.

Decadent treasures
Nothing to show
But small bookends
Lined, dusty in a row.

The journey is harder
Trying not to race 
To the other bookend

The journey is harder
Trying not to race 
To the other bookend
But enjoying the walk
Two golden bookends
And stories between.

Lyrics are written by Thomas Ask and are not AI created or guided.

Bookends

At your doorstep waits the swaying,
Frothing ocean.
Vainly attempting to regain
That small portion of the earth
Outside its voluminous grasp;
Defining the sky so
Infinite, void, delicate and beautiful.
Caressing the celestial objects of many
Man's ponder.
But even then our minds
Look farther.

Lyrics are written by Thomas Ask and are not AI created or guided.

Looking Up

I wrote these poems many years ago--all pre-AI and without its charming guidance. I tweaked the poems into suitable lyrics and developed the song structure. Finally, I used AI to compose the music. I guess this is striving to be a troubadour of the 21st century.

Many of my poems were written during my long traveling months when I was young and traveling a lot overseas. Later ones are about parenting, my Christian faith, and other life stuff.

These songs come from my poetry. The lyrics have not been AI generated or assisted. I did some tiny alterations of some of the original poems for musical flow. Except where noted, the musical compositions have been AI generated, where I took my poem and used some of the verses to create a chorus and bridge.

Looking Up

Melodity