w&m by Anne Hills
©1994 Raven Heart Music / ASCAP

From Anne’s album Angle of the Light

I wrote this song for my friend Catherine Jackson, the proprietor and spirit of “So Eat Already,” a restaurant and  gathering place for political activists, intellectuals, artists or anyone who liked a great whole food meal in a warm friendly atmosphere. She was a dear friend to countless people, and her sudden death right after Christmas, 1993, left a huge hole in my home community of Bethlehem.

Something about this hour of day,
Memories flow freely,
As the earth turns into space,
Leaving time and distance reeling.
And in this leaning toward the night,
There is nothing without shadow,
And no dark without the bright,
In the angle of the light.

We were sitting on a hill,
Finding four-leaf clover,
Sure that we had time to kill
Turning love and friendships over.
Words were borne upon the breeze,
Like September leaves we caught them,
Shared their colors, let them go
Just another day in autumn.

But in that leaning toward the night
There was nothing without shadow.
And no dark without the bright,
In the angle of the light.

Winter’s chill had long gone by,
Spring and summer passed before me.
Nature heaved a heavy sigh,
Resting up for next year’s glory.
Colder winds would shake the trees,
Four-leaf clover will stay hidden,
For fickle luck brought only grief,
And these memories come unbidden.

In this leaning toward the night
Where there’s nothing without shadow.
And no dark without the bright
In the angle of the light.