Lyrics and Poetry
Poetry & the Magic within
Für mich sind Worte mehr als Sprache – sie sind Klang, Bilder und Räume, in denen ich mir selbst und meiner Umgebung begegnen kann. Poesie fängt Stimmungen ein, macht das Unausgesprochene hörbar und öffnet den Blick für die Zwischentöne des Lebens.
Texte sind für mich ein Dialog zwischen Innen- und Außenwelt – ein Spiegel, ein Resonanzraum und ein Weg, das Leben immer wieder neu zu entdecken. Schreiben bedeutet für mich innezuhalten, die Schönheit im Alltäglichen wahrzunehmen und mein Erleben mit der Welt zu teilen.
Sanctuary
I build myself a sanctuary
where the strongest winds are holding still
where the moon can show her wise, luminous face
and hold with grace
whatever I bring
however the world gets torn apart,
to listen in
on the questions in my restless heart.
Hold on.
Be patient, like Rilke says
and love them like locked away rooms
until one day the answer blooms
Ocean waves of midnight blue
when they find me, I just let them through
Golden wings of memory
Where is land and where is sea?
Forest grounds of wild turquoise
carrying all of my voice
But isn’t all forest green?
As heavenly as it may seem,
It must be
out of a dream
I build myself a sanctuary
where all sound and silence intertwine
where the night draws a portrait of the day,
or mine
Hold on
Hold on
For when you’ve lost guiding star
It’ll meet you right where you are
It lifts you to a higher frequency
and lets you be
still.
(c) by Anja Ritterbusch (2022)
The secret sigh of spring
Spring is like a morning,
sweet fragrance—welcome back.
Snowdrops, few and far between,
covering winter’s tracks,
pure, untasted green.
Spring arrived on tiptoe,
enfolding me with light.
By midday, I subtly know—
when all dew has dried,
again my world’s aglow.
Is it a chance encounter,
awareness of life for just an hour?
If only a small part of our being flowers out,
what happens to the rest?
Springs will come and go by.
We only catch a glimpse,
scattered to the four winds—yet
never will I dare to forget
the secret sigh of spring.
(c) by Anja Ritterbusch (2010)
How precious
How precious is a life
the shining eyes of a child,
endless imagination,
yet tender, pure and wild.
How precious is a soul
miraculously evolving to grow and bloom
like a mysterious and unknown flower
coming through mud into the gloom
unfolding all its grace and beauty,
all quests, secrets and longings,
commiting with divine duty
to the necessities of new seedlings.
It intuits how to find the light
embracing the shadows, dark and bright.
How precious is a heart,
just like a piece of art.
Well, I don’t know about wrong or right
I‘m just a little dancer
moving my feet on the earth’s green ground,
devoting myself to the lost and found,
not claiming to know any answer,
just gazing with awe into the starlit night sky.
(c) by Anja Ritterbusch (2022)
From Water
How old is the sea?
You ask around
How old are the tears we lost and found?
Like the river runs to the shore
We all search for the core.
Again I find myself here, right at the shore.
Its surface has changed and yet, looks like before.
The sea swallows all the dreams and tears,
and our foolishness.
But it won’t forget them.
So it makes a difference.
The tale of the sea, it never ends.
Blue and mirror to my soul, she understands.
I can sing, I can swim, I can dance, I can lose my ground –
still the waters return,
like the seasons they’re all around.
All that is and all that flows
comes from water, from water.
The sound of the sea is calling us,
always anew and yet with a soothing pulse.
In the midst of the waves I am weightless
and let go of my fears.
May this sweet music
always sing in my ears.
From water, from water, from water..
(c) by Anja Ritterbusch (2017)
The art of letting go
Nothing's quite as tempting and scary as a blank sheet
a little sketch might spring to life and end up in a song
or leave you with the aftertaste that this attempt went wrong
The more I try, the less I achieve
the more I want, the less I conceive
and while being busy, there's so much to miss
the here and now, a long-desired kiss
We're meant to be seekers
but where's the beginning and where's the end?
At times I get tired of holding my head up
but now that you're here, it's lighter
with you I'd share the sky
For life's pictures change, rearrange
blossom and unravel
like a kaleidoscope
still me, still you, but in different shapes and colours
If we stay still, we'll never grow
don't promise me the stars
tell me a story you deeply know
tell me about the art of letting go
letting go, letting go, letting go
Shadow and light
wrong and right
rise and fall
nothing and all
ebb and flow
just let go
(c) by Anja Ritterbusch (2016)
Hourglass
The night has passed and day awakes
Beneath the dew the grass is growing green again
The patterns in my head repeat
like an open book of memories and the fear of loss
How did we think ten years ago?
Just like the seas our thoughts keep flowing in a stream
A laugh, a cry, a song, a dream
And we're twirling, dancing to the melody we hear
For now it's clear
Music fills the silence
makes our hearts aware of the haunting beauty life reveals
and so when you think you've lost, you've won,
just think of clouds and the silver lining that comes through
And underneath that glaring light,
although we know there's still another hill to climb
You grasp my hand and it's sublime,
we're alive in every sense, awake in every pore
(c) by Anja Ritterbusch (2015)
Travelling light
Still, just close your eyes and start to glide
We're lost in the trees
But rays of light appear and glow in the breeze
Light, the secret treasure of the sky
it drifts, oh, it lifts my heart.
Hold on
as beams of light carress your skin
like dandelion seeds to make wish upon
Right here before they‘re gone
Oh, and still you're waiting, longing..
My heart skips a beat
Anticipating, wondering where our path might lead
Just like a flower, blooming and opening to the light,
so is our love, and what’s still kept inside.
Let me sing to the moon and I'll make you smile
And I'll find us a place that is worthwhile
And we'll see lands of sky where birds take wing
And we'll sing, we'll begin to travel light
Let me sing to the moon and I'll make you smile
And I'll find us a place that is worthwhile
And we'll fly like a bird to the rainbow‘s end
And we'll sing, we'll begin to travel light
Let me flow like water
Let me sing like birds
Let me shine and turn the darkness into light
(c) by Anja Ritterbusch (2017)
Fall
Leaves fall down as from afar
Shades of grey lie on the pavement (slowly falling)
sky is low, grows distant in your sight
Darkness comes, slowly fades the day
In that old silence you get astray
Whispered words trying to elude
drain away deeply in solitude
Are we born to rise up and fall?
Could I try and leave my heart behind?
striving for answers that we seek
is bound to go on eternally
No longing for what was
As we walk through the rain
release what should have been
And leaves fall not in vain
(c) by Anja Ritterbusch (2007)
The song that you came here to sing
A glimpse of color fills your canvas, A secret melody appears in your mind. As you watch the first magnolia petals open wide, You start to sense what you've been longing to refind.
For so long the muse has been knocking at your door And oh, you've done your best trying to ignore Hiding in the mud of all your fears and doubt Wondering what this life is all about
Like the magnolia tree yearning for the spring Or like the summer birds waiting to take wing You’re like the bud daring to break through the mud To reveal the song that you came here to sing
May your soul take root and bloom like a garden May your voice unveil with light Let the seeds within you grow and awaken Keep your dreams and visions bright
What you water grows Only your heart knows How the journey will unfold and the stories yet untold
We’re all like flowers knowing how to bloom From a tiny seed to the bud, reaching through the gloom. It takes your deepest courage to step into the light Letting go of shadows that have held you tight
As you reach for the sky, leaving doubt behind, You'll find the strength to bloom, with a free and open mind. Embracing the chance for a fresh new start, As you begin creating from your source and heart.
Like the ocean shore welcoming the tide Or like a child at play, letting worries slide You’re like the bud finally opening up To sing the song that you came here to singChorus:
May this place take root and bloom like a garden, May you sing and create with grace, Let the seeds within you grow and awaken. Let your visions find their place.
What you water grows Only your heart knows How the journey will unfold and the stories yet untold
And you open your mouth Like a flower to the sun To let that melody be free For your voice is who you are Just like a guiding star Leading you home Where you belong To sing the song that you came here to sing
Change of season
Lying awake in bed,
I toss and turn since midnight.
Your breath flows gently in peaceful dreams,
cold is the air.
If only I could, I would
pre-turn the clock
and wait for a quick change of season.
Moonbeams illuminate the room,
but there's no poem in my mind.
I'm like a mermaid waiting to go ashore —
fed up with patience,
can't wait to see what life holds in store.
Memories and faces haunt my sleepless night,
I hear you, the city sleeps.
A thrilling thought is blossoming now:
What if I were starry-eyed again
and turned the chaos in my head
into a mosaic
that enfolds the shades of my mind?
I'm like a mermaid waiting to go ashore —
fed up with patience,
can't wait to see what life holds in store.
The stars reflected in the ocean.
A hideaway.
A dragonfly that finds its way
through woods and overland
to where water flows.
There it stays,
only for a while,
as motion is its way to be alive.
That's what I long to sense myself —
but seeking the adventure
needs someone to say "it's time to go."
I'm like a mermaid waiting to go ashore —
fed up with patience,
can't wait to see what life holds in store.
(c) by Anja Ritterbusch (2015)
A silent smile
A silent smile on your face.
The sea is calm
on your solitary walk —
the iridescent colour of the waves,
a sigh.
Torn between farewell
and setting out for distant shores,
like floating under water
and yet you yearn
for the sunlight shimmering through.
The endless flight of the seagulls,
your beating heart
and all the sounds of life.
The way you reminisce
about the days gone by.
Take a breath and feel
the rising wind
towards sky and sea —
till time reveals
the sweet promise
of stories yet to tell.
(c) by Anja Ritterbusch (2012)