Now let’s spread it wide open
the distance should help
you know, and keep our eyes open

I’m hoping for self that I can get it together
and while it’s breaking apart
I took a break from this letter
You’re going to break our hearts

And that’s ok, Jon
That’s fine
This world is still a great place
for us to live out our lives
Just look around
I see a tree
I see this sea of mediocrity just vanish beneath me
I can go to him and climb up into my friend
Hatred turns to love as I climb from limb to limb
It’s like that

Suddenly everything has changed
I don’t feel the same
I envision my listening as a step outside this picture frame
and looking back in
how many virtues did I claim?
How many demons unnamed
that remained fueling all my flames?

I can go for long walks
I’m connected
taking in the sights and loving late night talks
My pain’s from the same place
the universe was made
so I live it and embody it
this running in place

The air’s full of life and everything is living
so when I’m walking at night
it often feels like I’m swimming
I’m so well held
I’m so far from hell
I’m exploring my story
and it’s going so well.

I just followed the Spirit like a butterfly
And when I’m fully existing, it’s like the days fly by
I can’t always say the same for the nights

but when you’re holding onto something tight
it’s hard to let go
Shit, it’s difficult to go so slow

I want to be on the go
I want to see from the go
I want my “love is cheap” and “sex, release”
and even eat and sleep on the go

Oh no
Your “love is cheap” and “sex, release”
are costing you your peace
Don’t you know when you’re paying a price?
Put away your wallet
(the Spirit gives advice)
And when you listen to your conscience
it pays you back twice
Don’t be convinced by economics
just live out your life
And when you see something wrong
don’t close your eyes
Listen to this song or look at the sky
and say “I know I’m not perfect
This pile of shit is mine
and I’ve been working and working
and I’m doing real fine
I fuck up. I fuck up sometimes
I’m not bad because I’m not standing in a line
and I’m not going to show you a gang sign”

Pendle Hill lives on, faithful in strife
at least another time to sing Auld Lang Zime
and you can say these words
to make you faithful and strong
because I promise afternoons will be hang time

And just listen
I mean listen for the bell
there’s always a bell when you need to hear it
And next time you hear this
don’t fear it

Love,
(Spirit)

As featured in the music video “Dance Party Erupts During Quaker Meeting For Worship”

I found Quakers when I was just a kid
and now I’m studying them
I hope you know how that is

I’ve got George Fox on my right, James Nayler’s on my left
and Margaret Fell is holding us together
give her some respect

It’s that first generation we look back to
to find out what being a Friend means through and through
I don’t fully understand it
I don’t know if I can
but I understand enough to know that I am a fan

I’m like, damn, I didn’t think that I would do this anymore
I got bored
listening to lectures felt like a chore
But now I’m begging Max Carter just to tell me some more
Oh lord

So when I heard this Christian stuff
I’d get uncomfortable a lot
I’m like, What does Jesus have to do with George Fox?
And when I heard the word Christ it would make my jaw drop
but now I kind of understand the man I’ve got a soft spot

I’m not a Christian but I’m a Quaker
I’ve got Christ’s inner light but he’s not my savior
I’m on a date to meet my maker
I got down at Young Friends
with some funky behavior

Now I’m a liberal Friend
That means F-G-C
and tons of other acronyms that set me free
and I’ve been running the gammut
from Quaker camps to sandwiches
with the Young Friends crew
I know we offend you
but yo, we’re Quaker like the rest of y’all
Just ‘cause we go to bed later
doesn’t mean that midnight isn’t Quaker

And yo I’m sorry like everybody
that Quakers had to split
but just don’t blame Elias Hicks for all our problems
We’re the Society of Friends
it’s time we acted like it
and start to work together just to try to solve them

So all you Friends in the Meetinghouse
put your hands up
and then twist them at the wrist
like you just got out of handcuffs
That’s how you clap for me
you’ve got to clap silently

I’m not a Christian but I’m a Quaker
I’ve got Christ’s inner light but he’s not my savior
I’m on a date to meet my maker
I got down at Young Friends
with some funky behavior

I found George Fox living in a journal
and it’s fertile
I’m learning
I mean, I’ve jumped a lot of hurdles
and done a lot of discerning
just to get to where I’m sure that
the ancestors are working for certain
met the Spirit in person
now I’m living life nurturing worship
(in certain circles there’s a focus on service)

Now I know you might say
“Well, that’s some backwards theology”
I know you might say
“Well, that’s not right”
But that’s the way that I grew up
and it’s the way that I’m presenting it
Let’s hold all our differences in the Light
Alright

I’m not a Christian but I’m a Quaker
I’ve got Christ’s inner light but he’s not my savior
I’m on a date to meet my maker
I got down at Young Friends
with some funky behavior

To
Richmond Friends Meeting
BYM
FGC
Guilford College
QLSP
Pendle Hill
Earlham College
Shiloh Quaker Camp
Catoctin and Opequon
FCNL
AFSC
Langley Hill
Friendship Friends Meeting
Ashland Vineyard

FRIEND SPEAKS MY MIND

It’s not
everybody living in the same space
It’s not

one thing you said or did that brought me to this place
I’ve got to face my fear
and then say it in a way that you can hear
but it’s unclear
and so I’ll focus on the clarity I have
I’ll spread out all my maps
and then perhaps what I have to do
is chart some new territory
I love this story
but I’m getting kind of tired of adventure
Is this essential?
When can I relax?

And I can hold on
I’m so strong
It’s been a long time coming and instantly it’s gone It’s just a song

It’s not the end of the world
It’s just another bad day
so please, I don’t need you to look at me that way
I’ll be ok
And this is nothing but a song
so just listen and nod
and then secretly wonder what you’ve done wrong

It’s just my voice
It’s just the core of me
It’s just as deep as you’ve ever heard me speak
It’s just some beats on a screen
I mean, I don’t mean to mean
You see? We’ve relied on our words for too long
It’s time to make songs

And I can hold on
I’m so strong
It’s been a long time coming and instantly it’s gone It’s just a song

Dear Tom,
I don’t know where you are right now
It’s just a few people who do

I’m wondering what life’s like for you now
These weeks I’ve been thinking of you
This past Meeting for Worship we held you in prayer
and as I sat breathing American air
I kept wondering what life’s like there
Are they feeding you?

Dear Tom,
My inbox is full
It’s all stories and pictures of you
It’s high time we put R-E in front of ‘connection’
and hope that you’re feeling it too

Dear Tom,
I just talked to my mom
I was coming from hiking the trail
Somehow I knew that the call was about you
She said that they found you

Dear Tom,
I’m thinking of writing a song
I fear that I won’t do it right
But I know that you’re with me in loving the wrong
and not letting it keep you from life

Dear Tom,
Your children are strong
I saw Cassie yesterday on the news
She got asked some tough questions
and we’re all asking now
when our media will stop ignoring truth
And I haven’t talked to Andrew
I hear he’s not well
I can’t imagine the things he must feel
And if Spirit would give me the words
I would tell him I love him and hope he can heal

Everybody feels you, Tom
You’re not long gone
You’ll live on in songs and in our hearts
And I can do my part and make this art
Spirit finishes what it starts

Tom Fox, this is Jon Watts
Can you hear me?
Have I listened to you clearly?
I read your blog
and I know it’s not lost but we lost you
We didn’t know what this would cost you
You’re lost in war zones
We wish we had you back
but you brought the war home
There’s a Spirit in Iraq

I’m remembering back to when you where a FAP
You had a silent and a powerful presence
You had so much wisdom that you kept inside
but we knew you were wise
your silence was the evidence
I learned from your eyes not to speak all the time
To be wise means to not have to prove it
And we talk about patience and love all the time
but you showed me that someone can do it

They’re saying the battle you’re fighting is lost
because you didn’t live all the way through it
Some Christians have said that your mission is ended
and even, they’ve said it was foolish

Tom Fox, this is Jon Watts
Can you hear me?
Have I listened to you clearly?
I read your blog
and I know it’s not lost but we lost you
We didn’t know what this would cost you
You’re lost in war zones
We wish we had you back
but you brought the war home
There’s a Spirit in Iraq

I said I believed in you in an interview
I felt I had to do with Fox News
and the man looked at me
and said he fully understood
how bad it must feel in my shoes
But my shoes are fine
I feel quite a bit of pain
but the bombs here fall less often than the rain Consecutive days are relatively the same
I don’t have to hide if the Americans find my name

So when they assume I want revenge
I don’t fully understand
There are thousands in Iraq who won’t have that And we can still sit back in our comfortable chairs
and laugh and get mad about the Nasdaq

So I know what you did, Tom Fox
I know how you helped those people
And the good that you’ve done is important right now
in the face of this thing that’s so evil
Because they’re pushing the families apart
and it’s hard to pull them together
And when I think of your life
there’s a piece in my heart
that sees peace that can last us forever

Tom Fox, this is Jon Watts
Can you hear me?
Have I listened to you clearly?
I read your blog
and I know it’s not lost but we lost you
We didn’t know what this would cost you
You’re lost in war zones
We wish we had you back
but you brought the war home
There’s a Spirit in Iraq