New Song - "Empty Places" Dec. 5/10

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I was crawling through the darkness, wrestling with the light,
Looking for an angel and spoiling for a fight.
But you were in the wilderness, looking for the traces.
God keep you from all harm in those empty places.

From the pyramids in the desert, through Australia's outback,
To the land of brown and green and red, along every trackless track,
When you're stooping down to tie them up, is there blood on your bootlaces?
God put Himself 'tween you and harm in those empty places.

You can wander in the daylight, with one eye on the ground,
And another on the sky, or you never will be found,
When nighttime comes and leaves you there, trapped in hypostasis.
God give you all the warmth you need in your empty places.

They say we have a god-shaped hole and then they act surprised,
When we choose Adonis and the fire in the eyes [or "thighs"].
But ponder these things carefully in the heat of those embraces:
Don't let an imitation penetrate your empty places.

They say a lion roars for you: He's dangerous but He's good,
But another one is on the prowl: he'd kill you if he could.
He's in his cage, but so are you, beside him as he paces.
God keep you from his jaws in those empty places.

Stats will say you're like the rest and therefore so am I,
But we can fight the odds and make statistics lie.
And I am not impervious to the prettiest of faces.
God help us all to find a way through those empty places.

If we're quoting you the Bible and giving you the verses,
Don't let us change 'em into threats, turning promises to curses.
Live in joy and not in fear, and always know what Grace is.
God pour His love into the cracks of your empty places.

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Inspiration for this comes from
1) Dylan's "Shelter From the Storm". Figured it might help me to break my writer's block to borrow a tune. Now I have to make up my own.

2) "Babylon 5" I'd found a few episodes on VHS at Sally Ann. "God be between you and harm in all the empty places where you must walk." is quoted as an ancient Egyptian blessing, although I think that origin is fictional. Michelle, I've tagged you, because I seem to recall you as a fan of B5.

3) When I heard this blessing, it reminded me of friends prospecting at that time in the tundra of Nunavut, because of the striking images they were posting of the "empty places" of the north.

But the words/ideas moved further abroad from those people and those places (though still including them), including Australia, Egypt and Narnia.