[Intro]
started writing my novel,
Two decades ago,
Life got in the way, so I let it go,
Work, wife, parents with health issues, now gone,
Back burners full of overflowing pots,
Sands of time remind me its time to move on.
[Verse 1]
Serious writing projects completed,
A dozen plus books published,
Others yet to come, new lectures to plan,
New courses to develop and teach.
[Verse 2]
My story untold, lessons learned unfurled,
But not written down to pass down my truth,
About things I know much more than I should,
That others should learn, in old age and youth.
[Verse 3]
Place bound during Covid’s lockdown,
Chained to my desk like galley slaves to oars,
Taping lectures, attending Zoom meetings,
Depression abounds, if not sleep or joy.
[Verse 4]
And so, I went back to relive the past,
In memory still green, though browning in parts,
Taking poetic license where it needs,
But gently as a child's butterfly kiss.
[Verse 5]
Nearly nine thousand words today for just,
One day's events that sowed a thousand seeds,
That sprouted, flourished and died or were pecked,
By hungry vultures out of existence.
[Verse 6]
Remembering a day in my career,
When I still viewed the world with bright, clear eyes,
And had not opened doors I could not close,
Or walked by doors I should have opened wide.
[Bridge]
[Verse 7]
My world and heart were then innocent, pure,
Full of good intentions waiting to burst out,
From a chest that could hardly hold them back,
Foolishly thinking I could change the world.
[Verse 8]
The painful memories in which I now drown,
I’ll barely touch on.
The pain I've given, the pain I've received,
I'll whitewash away,
To protect myself and those that I loved.
[Verse 9]
I'll focus my journey to work alone,
Describe what I've learned
That others should know,
Weave the personal with transparent thread,
The professional with thickest red yarn.
[Verse 10]
My novel will teach more
That all need to know,
Than all my life's work.
Hope I can write it
While I have the time.
[outro – close-mic, intimate]
My sand's running out, tick tock cries the clock,
Hope lockdown provides, end to writer's block.
Link to song: https://suno.com/s/bbQBQrwN4aZjLxpe
Author's Note: My novel, Hire Lernin': An Idealist's Quest Through the Realm of for-Profit Higher Education, was published in 2021 in its original English and my translation into Spanish in hard cover, paperback, eBook and audiobook versions.
May 7
May 7, 2026 at 12:28 PM UTC
[Intro]
started writing my novel,
Two decades ago,
Life got in the way, so I let it go,
Work, wife, parents with health issues, now gone,
Back burners full of overflowing pots,
Sands of time remind me its time to move on.
[Verse 1]
Serious writing projects completed,
A dozen plus books published,
Others yet to come, new lectures to plan,
New courses to develop and teach.
[Verse 2]
My story untold, lessons learned unfurled,
But not written down to pass down my truth,
About things I know much more than I should,
That others should learn, in old age and youth.
[Verse 3]
Place bound during Covid’s lockdown,
Chained to my desk like galley slaves to oars,
Taping lectures, attending Zoom meetings,
Depression abounds, if not sleep or joy.
[Verse 4]
And so, I went back to relive the past,
In memory still green, though browning in parts,
Taking poetic license where it needs,
But gently as a child's butterfly kiss.
[Verse 5]
Nearly nine thousand words today for just,
One day's events that sowed a thousand seeds,
That sprouted, flourished and died or were pecked,
By hungry vultures out of existence.
[Verse 6]
Remembering a day in my career,
When I still viewed the world with bright, clear eyes,
And had not opened doors I could not close,
Or walked by doors I should have opened wide.
[Bridge]
[Verse 7]
My world and heart were then innocent, pure,
Full of good intentions waiting to burst out,
From a chest that could hardly hold them back,
Foolishly thinking I could change the world.
[Verse 8]
The painful memories in which I now drown,
I’ll barely touch on.
The pain I've given, the pain I've received,
I'll whitewash away,
To protect myself and those that I loved.
[Verse 9]
I'll focus my journey to work alone,
Describe what I've learned
That others should know,
Weave the personal with transparent thread,
The professional with thickest red yarn.
[Verse 10]
My novel will teach more
That all need to know,
Than all my life's work.
Hope I can write it
While I have the time.
[outro – close-mic, intimate]
My sand's running out, tick tock cries the clock,
Hope lockdown provides, end to writer's block.
Link to song: https://suno.com/s/bbQBQrwN4aZjLxpe
Author's Note: My novel, Hire Lernin': An Idealist's Quest Through the Realm of for-Profit Higher Education, was published in 2021 in its original English and my translation into Spanish in hard cover, paperback, eBook and audiobook versions.
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