LAURA MEYER | CYGNE | FINAL PRESS

More than a cathedral, Notre Dame is a container for our collective soul. Regardless of faith or nationality, she has been the receptacle for millions of our prayers, dreams, and meditations. She has inspired our poems, art, and imaginations. She has hosted our proposals, weddings, funerals, vacations, memories, and reunions. She has served as a portal to our shared history. 

Tonight she reminds us to hold sacred what is here, now. To appreciate the beauty that surrounds us, and the people we love. Just because something existed before us doesn’t mean it will exist forever. 

Notre Dame will be repaired, as she was after the revolution. Once again we will study her rainbow rosette, gazing through the eyes of countless humans across the time-space continuum, marveling at the way the dust sparkles like friendly spirits overhead. We will climb her narrow stairs to emerge, breathless, at the Paris skyline, sharing membership to the most beautiful city in the world. We will perhaps be even more grateful, more reverent, knowing what we lost, and knowing what we still have. 

Until then, let us hold space for each other, and tend to this weary world soul. We love you, Paris.

happy new moon / spring bloom <3

here's a new oldie... more on patreon

thank you for listening / watching / being 

download new moon here

I Worried 
by Mary Oliver 

I worried a lot.  Will the garden grow, will the rivers 
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn 
as it was taught, and if not how shall 
I correct it? 

Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven, 
can I do better? 

Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows 
can do it and I am, well, 
hopeless. 

Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it, 
am I going to get rheumatism, 
lockjaw, dementia? 

Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing. 
And gave it up.  And took my old body 
and went out into the morning, 
and sang. 

From Swan

Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore, 
non feci mai male ad anima viva! 
Con man furtiva 
quante miserie conobbi aiutai. 
Sempre con fè sincera 
la mia preghiera 
ai santi tabernacoli salì. 
Sempre con fè sincera 
diedi fiori agl’altar. 
Nell’ora del dolore 
perchè, perchè, Signore, 
perchè me ne rimuneri così? 
Diedi gioielli della Madonna al manto, 
e diedi il canto agli astri, al ciel, 
che ne ridean più belli. 
Nell’ora del dolor 
perchè, perchè, Signor, 
ah, perchè me ne rimuneri così? 

*

I lived for my art, I lived for love, 
I never did harm to a living soul! 
With a secret hand 
I relieved as many misfortunes as I knew of. 
Always with true faith 
my prayer 
rose to the holy shrines. 
Always with true faith 
I gave flowers to the altar. 
In the hour of grief 
why, why, o Lord, 
why do you reward me thus? 
I gave jewels for the Madonna’s mantle, 
and I gave my song to the stars, to heaven, 
which smiled with more beauty. 
In the hour of grief 
why, why, o Lord, 
ah, why do you reward me thus?

Evolution is a process.

Although we can't always detect it, we are making progress.

We are moving forward. 

There are potholes. There are smooth patches. It's all one road.

We will get there.

We are here.And we're here to grow.

We are complete. We are unique.

We are equal. We belong.

Get out there. Happy Fall.

<3

It's easy to get stuck in a rut.

It's just as easy to bust out of it.

Dive in. Shake it up. Try something new. Break the rules. Venture a little farther. Know your limits. Transcend them.

Choose a different seat. Try a different perspective. There's no such thing as a detour.

Windex really does fix everything. 

Life isn't about winning or losing. It's about the people you're with. (And Stella Starfish.)

Televised world championships of cornhole exist. (You can't spell SAUSAGE without USA.)

Bright lights and screens were designed to take our money, so proceed with caution.

We don't need all this stuff.

However medieval-themed blacklight mini-golf - complete with an alternative hits of the 90s playlist - is a fantastic investment.

Sometimes pointlessness is the point.

After all, the world is round. 
Nature nurtures.

We are nature.

There are places where you don't have to worry about your bike getting stolen.

There's no right way to do anything.

If you think you can, think you can, think you can, you will make it up the hill. 

When you feel scared, scream.

If screaming seems inappropriate, there's probably no reason to be scared. 

However it's okay to sit some rides out. ;)

Nothing lasts forever.Yet the present moment is infinite.
Once a kid, always a kid. (This is the house where I was born.)

So there you have it. Souvenirs from summer vacation. Now I'm typing in my pajamas and a down coat listening to rain on the roof, settling into fall vacation... everything feels like vacation when I'm not touring. But then tour often feels like vacation... I guess life is a vacation. A working vacation, but a vacation no less. As long as we play in our work and work in our play.

I tweaked the site a bit... added a new photo:

My friend Kristijan took it on his roof in Zürich, the same apartment where the Let It Breathe cover photo was taken. We were excited about this one for the cover of the next album. The working title for the past year and a half has been One Woman. It will be stripped-down. Solo. More like how shows are. I'm pretty certain it will be a Laura Meyer release, though Cygne has a bunch of songs stockpiled, too. I'm documenting the process on patreon. It feels good to be slow. There's so much more time this way... 

Sending love <3

Laura / Cygne / One Woman

always & forever... <3 <3 <3 x infinity... 

Love is at the root of everything. - Fred Rogers