there he sits on his corner
there’s his daily dance
i recognize his life-loved bags
i’ve memorized his hands
the cup he holds
the song he sings
when passing in my boots
i know that when he sings his song
his world is my world too

i sit in the empty middle now
in all the eyes i eye the doubt
to feel an afraid you don’t know how to soothe
is to risk an alone with a self you might lose

until now
with every low
somehow you saw me through

i don’t know how to face this though
where did all the faces go

there they played once side by side
now where’s their joyful trials
fear can sometimes mask the presence of exile
‘cus there she was once mesmerized
there she’d stay awhile
shaped by trees
scraped knees
the ease
of every exchanged smile

i sit in the empty middle now
in all the eyes i spy the doubt
why we’ve been told that the air has gone sour
when you breathe into pain is when you give it less power

until now
with every low
somehow you saw me through

i don’t know how to face this though
where did all the faces go

and as i watch the line up again
i hear the whistle blow

i don’t know how to face this though
where did all the faces go

empty middle
© cordelia hanford foster

written, performed and produced by
cordelia hanford foster

mixed by Jamie Candiloro
engineered by Mike Post
mastered by Calbi/Fallone