The Ancient Sun

I woke up today beneath an ancient sun.
My face was burning with an old regret.
I thought of you far off and I began to shake and cough.
I'm sick with not being able to forget.

They call me the prisoner of this island.
I'm surrounded by white stones and seas of blue.
I think of you as my judge, though I know you hold no grudge,
but still I serve this sentence for you.

Oh Holly, oh Holly, it's all coming back to me:
every last mistake, every small detail.
It's an ancient sun
that shines on everyone,
everyone who has tried to love and failed.

I woke up today beneath an ancient sun.
The one that shone when you first took me home
and I felt your heart stir, but your body began to blur
into every other body I had ever known.

I tried, I tried, I tried, to stay satisfied!
But the more I tried the more common our love seemed
and the life I tried to build on a cornerstone of guilt
came crashing down in a pile of broken dreams.

Oh, Holly, oh Holly, my soul is bound to yours.
Not by love, but by this timeless tale:
of an ancient sun
that shines on everyone,
everyone who has tried to love and failed.

I woke today beneath an ancient sun.
I walked to where the warm sand meets the water.
And I met a little girl with no family in this world,
and I decided I would call her my daughter.

She could not read or write; she knew just a few words –
her eyes were as clear as oyster shells.
But when I took her hand in mine, I felt for the first time
so grateful not to be with anyone else.

So Holly, oh Holly, I'm writing just to say
that I think I've finally found a way to live.
For everything seemed old when your love was there to take.
Oh but everything is new now that I've found love to give.

Everything is new now that I've found love to give.

Tam Lin