the deepening ground

For the first time in nearly ten years, I’ll be back in local coffeehouses playing music with my sons — except now it’s the next generation! Shortly after I released At the In Between in 2012, I began “touring” with my two eldest sons. We played wineries, coffee shops, and farmer’s markets and made many fond memories along the way. Now they are married, each with a son of their own, so I’m practicing with my two youngest sons for a series of shows titled Navigating the Dark: Stars, Stories, and Songs, which include original songs inspired by the myths behind the constellations and other works of fiction, along with a few classic folk songs thrown in. The first show at Collage Coffee in Grove City, PA will be in just under a month, with the second show scheduled for Beans on Broad, just down the street from Collage, in October.

Fittingly, the last time I posted a work of original music was a year ago AND this song was one of the last songs recorded with my two eldest sons, originally composed on July 15, 2014 and previously unreleased. Although we’re (thankfully) far from autumn (for I have miles to go before the school year starts), tonight’s post will take us down the autumn road, away from false measures of what it means to be alive, to be valued, and to be human. Ultimately, when we remember WHO we are and WHOSE we are, then we have all the validation we could ever need!

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Autumn Road

Vincent H. Anastasi - 2014

Like outlines of forgotten signs
we’re dim shadows absence redefines
Faded images of glory in the sun
And though I try to recreate,
unearth these corpses from their graves
I’m only left with something quite undone

Vagabond princes, we all bend
to pick up pennies we’ll never spend
And all our royalty has turned to ash
A pauper, I will always be
while I cling to false realities
That I am no more than some fallen cash

	Lavender and lemongrass
        may numb the broken, painful past
	Yet still I wake with throbbings in my soul
	But in the glass I darkly see
        the hope that spans eternity
	Now I will rise and let these visions grow
	And I will boldly walk this autumn road

Now toss those lies out on the track,
there’s a carriage waiting round the back
We can leave our broken picture frames at home
No longer to fill all my days
with sanitized, sanctioned soul charades
Your validation sets me free to roam

	Lavender and lemongrass
        may numb the broken, painful past
	Yet still I wake with throbbings in my soul
	But in the glass I darkly see
        the hope that spans eternity
	Now I will rise and let these visions grow
	And I will boldly walk this autumn road

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Don’t forget you can stream my most popular songs from 1996-2012 on Spotify, YouTube, and all the other popular online music platforms!