Words and music © 2025 by Tom Maynard Tom Maynard: Vocal, guitars, midi strings
Joe Clapp: Bass, keyboards
Based on a journey/dream where I descended into the earth to encounter the rage with which I was locked in mortal combat. I was terrified to even acknowledge it’s existence, let alone attempt some reconciliation with it. The realization that it wouldn’t burn me to a cinder, but instead might exist as a fire within which I might derive sustenance and power, was life changing, and has continued to inspire me over the years.
Lyrics:
Long ago I lay asleep
In dreams I wandered caverns deep
My steps, slow, took me far below
Against my will through black shadow
I could sense, as in dreams we do,
That I would find when journey’s through
Something I’d tried, so long denied,
In dread I’d pushed far down inside
Behind a door in the cavern wall
There it burned, consuming all
Unthinking rage, hot fury’s call
How could I stare into that fire?
The door on hinges turning
I burn then without burning
My fear transforms to yearning
Late last night I woke to dark
What dream was left was just a spark
So delicate, a hint of doubt
Just a thought could snuff it out
But slowly, as if the way I breathed
Was just the air a spark might need
From red to white its glow grew bright
A dream rekindled into light
I hear a tune I think I knew
A song is born as embers flew
The muse’s face in flames comes through
As I stare into the fire
Tom Maynard 