Time is a spiral we all return to as we dance
We come full circle, but end above where we began
You count the miles, you count the hours
You count the heartbeats since the parting kiss
Hammerblows of ragged breath
The curve of a shoulder
The open suitcase
And the coffee’s getting cold
The coffee’s getting cold
The way the longing plays across my face
And the coffee’s getting cold
Time is the wounder and the nurse
Time is the healer
Time is the curse
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, so they say
Tell that to Prometheus
He turns his head, he looks away
Looks to the curve of a shoulder
The open suitcase
And the coffee’s getting cold
The coffee’s getting cold
The way the longing plays across my face
And the coffee’s getting cold
The coffee’s getting cold
Time is a spiral we all return to as we dance
Copyright ©2006 by Lee Krähenbühl / Living Room Music. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission. Permissions: LeeKrahenbuhl@aol.com.
Composed: 1995-2006
First public performance: Indianapolis Arts Garden, Spring 2005
Notes: I commuted hundreds of miles over three decades—for work, for parenting, for love, for family. The term “supercommuting” hadn’t yet been invented when I started my first visiting professorate between Richmond, Indiana and Grand Rapids, Michigan. By the time it all ended, long after this song was recorded, I was shuttling between coasts to visit my father in memory care, then in hospice. This song developed between those bookends, born out of liminal space and departure fatigue. And Greek mythology. And beverage.
Recording: David Frantz and Lee Krähenbühl, Living Room (2006)
Lee Krähenbühl, PhD 