Many of the things which puzzle other people
Stand out in more bold relief to us
Some of the values
Some of the contradictions
Some of the goodies that we most long for
In another part of us we have already judged, you know
We have already seen their emptiness
And some of the really marvellous things
That other people don't pay that much attention to
We know how precious they are
Joy
And beauty
And illumination
And communion
We know how precious they are
I suppose I think that
The highest gift that man has is art
And I am audacious enough to think of myself as an artist
I want to reach a little closer to the world
Which is to say to people
And see if we can share some illuminations together
About each other
My dream is largely outside of myself
Which is a happy thing to be able to say
Civil rights
Civil liberties
We know that these are not things to be toyed with
Because we're still just barely getting our hands on them
We know how precious they are
My word isn't this marvellous
The inventiveness of the human mind and the human spirit
That whenever life doesn't seem to give an answer we create them
It gives us strength
I don't think the time will ever come
When we will dismiss the human spirit
There is something more to do with your life than accept it as it is
In my time
There is both joy and beauty
And illumination
And communion
We know how precious they are
Civil rights
Civil liberties
We know that these are not things to be toyed with
Because we're still just barely getting our hands on them
We know how precious they are