From the recording Homemade Toy
On the theme of “Holding On & Letting Go”, this was one of those gems that came as a gift. The toy image from my childhood was a wooden spool with a rubber band through the hole, and toothpicks tucked in either end of the rubber band. We’d spin the toothpicks and set it loose on the floor to scurry and flit until it was spent.
Lyrics
5. Homemade toy
(Daryl Snider, February 2010)
Look Ma! No hands!
Neither yours nor mine can ever really control,
but this moment of letting go
is just when I shine, with the thrill of life divine.
It's true, it's true,
we choose what we do, and we must do;
but in the end – and if we're lucky, before then –
we'll realize that life is in the moment, not the ends.
Life is like a homemade toy
we build from stuff we find lyin' about,
then we wind the rubber band and stand back,
watching it play out, 'til the tensions all run slack.
Then we gather scattered pieces up,
drop what was a flop and make amends,
add some features then we wind it up again,
over and again, then go & find our friends.
All that was, is no more,
and everything that is, just is;
what will be is only hope or fear, and now
Hope is what I chose to hold dear: Hope & Life...