A day or so ago, I was seated as is my habit, here at Starbucks. Midwestern winters have returned, with single digit cold and some snow. Also who is not weary with the media onslaught, the hash of Trumpism?

The spirit of the age is that of toxic patriarchy. My instincts are on-alert. The subtext of the matter is that poisonous masculinity is the mandate of heaven. This is nothing new. Five years of war once engulfed the country to break the hold of a Southern culture and economy that was based upon chattel slavery. And there was the effort to eradicate the presence of indigenous communities that lived on what are now our lands. Such ideas have a single beating heart: he who is stronger, decides “what is right.”

One must pay attention to all of that. We Americans are always to be haunted in some form by that living-dead monster. But, one must not gaze too long into the abyss as Nietzsche famously wrote. Who is not “moth to a flame” with respect to the media reports, the speculation about plans to deport anyone without legal status? Or the plans to deprive Gay citizens of rights? No matter the darkness that approaches, one must conserve one’s balance, a healthy sense of self.

As I said, seated here at Starbucks, my attention was drawn to a song playing in the background. The folk style voice conveyed an innocent strength. I reached for my iphone and double tapped the Shazam app. That is how I became introduced to Ahi, a Canadian singer-songwriter. Get the Shazam app if you do not already have it. Music is a “go to” antidote to the negativity, our addiction to excess, to the half-truths of advertising, in short, our self centered lives.  Here is a fine tune, a refuge from forces intent upon capturing us, undermining our love for life, ourselves, for others.

Full Circle

By Ahi

How am I lost again?
A misfit in my own skin
Tell me that I’m not alone
I’ll know for certain
Out of control I spin
I drown in a world of sin
I know if you pull me close
I’ll find the surface

You are my perfect part
All that I need, all that I got
As long as you’re wrapped ’round my heart
I’ll come full circle

Under the loyal moon
Can I slip away with you?
When I hear you call out my name
Sweet like a sermon
There’s nowhere I’d rather be
With you lying next to me
The comfort I find in your eyes
I’m no longer searching

You are my perfect part
All that I need, all that I got
As long as you’re wrapped ’round my heart
I’ll come full circle
And you are my guiding star
You always bring me right back to the start
As long as you’re wrapped ’round my heart
I’ll come full circle

Ooh-ohhh, round and around you bring me right back
Round and around you lead me on home
Round and around and I come full circle
Ooh-ohhh, round and around you bring me right back
Round and around you lead me on home
Round and around and I come full circle

You are my perfect part
All that I need, all that I got
As long as you’re wrapped ’round my heart I’ll come full circle
And you are my guiding star
You always bring me right back to the start As long as you’re wrapped ’round my heart I’ll come full circle
As long as you’re wrapped ’round my heart I’ll come full circle