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Works in Progress

by Mark Lemaire

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1.
I Wish There Was a Word 04:02
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I Wish There was a Word ©2023 Mark Lemaire I wish there was a word for that time I lay awake In the dead of night with joy-- joy I can’t explain The moment drifted away-- did it even occur? For that state I wish there was a word I wish there was a word I wish there was a word for the times we fight When suddenly I see it’s you who’s right What a strange sensation to silently observe For that state I wish there was a word I wish there was a word Talk won’t serve my purpose anymore There’s no word for what I need to say But I still love stories, stories all the same I wish there was a word for that nurturing light That I hide from, that I fear- yet it held me that night I don’t wanna let it go--that’s how little I know It isn’t even of this world I light a candle, although that hardly serves That’s when I wish, I wish there was a word I wish there was a word I wish there was a word
2.
Leaves in the Stream 05:25
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Leaves In the Stream copyright 2020 Mark Lemaire This morning I woke up. Flipped on the news, flipped it off Now I’m headed back to bed The mighty tree that shelters us Is dying over our heads We are not roots or branches We are only the tiniest things Inconsequential, we fall through the air Each of us, a leaf in the stream I regret the years I’ve lost- The friends that I have crossed Defending my hollow beliefs The grudges I have held Forgive them-- forgive myself I‘m just trying to get some sleep If I rise into the sky Float above my life Maybe I will finally see I need the touch of grace I find it dreaming I’m only a leaf in the stream Swept down the river That is calling, calling O’er the falls We are falling, falling A phrase in a footnote, a page of history We are only leaves in the stream When they write the story of this century Plague, insanity, and greed The truth drowned out by a thousand lies Till nothing was left to believe The marchers rising like a tide While the schemers game the machine A million voices raised in song Each of us a leaf in the stream Swept down the river That is calling, calling O’er the falls We are falling, falling A phrase in a footnote, a page of history We are only leaves in the stream Turn off the news, come to bed Stop trying to guess what’s coming next There’s nothing you can do anymore Great forces align in a black and blue sky Witness the mother of storms Above the lightning and the violent clouds A star, silent as a dream May the rain wash us free to the infinite sea Each of us a leaf in the stream Swept down the river That is calling, calling O’er the falls We are falling, falling A phrase in a footnote, a page of history We are only leaves in the stream
3.
The Edge of Time 05:02
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The Edge of Time ©2023 Mark Lemaire Is there a way to walk upon The path that straddles time? No fear for the future, our backs to the past. Can we touch that delicate line? Oh, to breathe deep my friends Draw the cool air in and then We are present for a second For a breath we’re home again If now is only the endless unfolding joining moments together May we ride the shining line of time The blossom that blossoms forever We’re skating high on a ridge Sharp as the edge of a knife Clouds in motion below us The abyss on either side We push off, and the ridge is moving Our skates describe the line The past on the left, the stars on the right We are tracing the edge of time If now is only the endless unfolding joining moments together May we ride the shining line of time The blossom that blossoms forever I’ve been living in the past I always worry what’s coming next Is there a way to walk upon The path that straddles the line? The past on the left, the stars on the right We are tracing the edge of time If now is only the endless unfolding joining moments together May we ride the shining line of time The blossom that blossoms forever The blossom that blossoms forever
4.
Breathing Lessons 03:25
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Breathing Lessons ©2006 Mark Lemaire I met her on the World Wide Web “Let’s keep it simple” we both said In an hour we were in my bed I think I need Breathing Lessons I had a lover who was funny and strong You would say there was nothing wrong But the next week she was gone, gone, gone I think I need Breathing Lessons I’m high- the world is far below I’m flying- but then I lose control Where oxygen is hard to hold- I must remember to breathe. I think I know what I’m doin’ But then my life’s in ruin When I can’t tell lies from truth I think I need Breathing Lessons I’m high- the world is far below I’m flying- but then I lose control Where oxygen is hard to hold- I must remember to breathe. I’m so frightened of this I’m so tired of my shit All that stuff I licked up—left and right Made it mine, now it’s time I moved on—it’s all right To be wrong—if only I remember I must remember I must remember to breathe I thought I know who I was But I think I think I think too much “Intellectual longs for touch” I must remember I must remember I must I must I must I must remember to breathe.
5.
Dust 03:58
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Dust ©2023 Mark Lemaire Another sunrise through my bedroom window. A shaft of light moves across the floor. I follow its path— I never do that. I don’t notice stuff like that much anymore. At the age of three I discovered dust floating in the sun above my bed. I gazed with a toddler’s stillness At the billions dancing overhead That was such a long-gone morning The quiet folds of the sheets. I slipped out of my beginnings. The cold floor under my bare feet Well, that world’s been gone 60 years But this morning I remember Specks of dust floating in the sun Of that long ago September. At the age of eight I discovered A hidden stream a mile from my home The dead-end street I stashed my bike A secret all my own Sneakers in the mud Dandelions blown into the sun With my compass and my homemade map I never shared with anyone That was such a long-gone place It never even had a name But last year I flew home and found it unchanged Isn’t it strange? Though I’ve been gone sixty years There’s a place that still remembers Me on my bicycle In a long ago September
6.
Shadow Wedding 05:58
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Shadow Wedding © 2021 Mark Lemaire I’ll marry you twice: the first time in white And now in black. Meet me tonight We’ll stand outside in the rain and the cold And vow to love the worst of us both Marry the dregs of my grandiose dreams, My beautiful loser, and I’ll receive Your angry achiever who can’t let go Now we know the worst of us both A good night for a shadow wedding Marry the bone to the blood A good night for a shadow wedding We’ll vow to lay down the gloves And embrace the riddle of love Uninvited guests appear Faces from my earliest years The fears of my mother, the tears of my dad Woven through the man I am Your grandma’s picture locked in a drawer It’s your face—years before you were born Like a maid of honor she’s bringing to you Something borrowed, something blue A good night for a shadow wedding Marry the bone to the blood A good night for a shadow wedding We’ll vow to lay down the gloves And embrace the riddle of love It’s easy to marry in a sunlit glade Smile to smile face to face But backs to the wall, blinded by smoke Will you vow to love the worst of us both A good night for a shadow wedding Marry the bone to the blood A good night for a shadow wedding We’ll vow to lay down the gloves And embrace the riddle of our love We’ll marry the bone to the blood And embrace the riddle of our love.

about

When a happy audience member asks “How can I get that song you guys just played?” and the work is so new it’s not even on an album yet, here’s how you can (probably) hear it.

This is “Works In Progress”. It may be a only copyright demo* (the version registered for legal purposes with the US Government Copyright Office), or a half-recorded session tape, or it could be a mastered, finished work that hasn't got a home yet in a larger work. If it’s not a final version, that just means you can join us as baby grows up! Check back now and then and see what is being created in the laboratory!

* Yes, everything here is copyrighted. All rights reserved, etc.

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released February 8, 2024

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Mark Lemaire San Francisco, California

Mark’s music runs from guitar (Rubato, Equinox) to matched harmonies with Cindy Lemaire (Cambridge Cowgirl, Home Isn’t Home)- - so aligned that they seem like two people with one voice! As a recording engineer, his clients have ranged from Jimmy Miller (Rolling Stones, etc) to the San Francisco Symphony. Mark's musical well is deep. The work is nuanced, real, and unlike anything else you’ll find. ... more

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