Seventeen, Id left behind my

pleated plaids and navy knee socks,

stumbled onto campus in my platform shoes.

Feeling young and unafraid

I moved from a passing grade to

passing bottles in brown wrappers,

passing out in strangers rooms.



It was a crazy time;

the world was unraveling.

And I would cling to any line,

to anyone, to anything.

If I could just find my way

to feel familiar tapestry,

to hold a thread of sanity

and someone said to me:



Hold on to my love,

my love, my love

Hold on to my love



Now I can see it your eyes;

they look at mine defiantly.

Seventeen-- no surprise

God, you look so much like me!

The style Ive seen before,

the hair, the clothesits all been worn.

Honey, its the uniform

of non-conformity



And history has her patterns

I remember seventeen-

Between the past and the future,

youre caught somewhere in the seam.



And if your dreams no longer fit you,

If the ones you once held dear

start to fade and disappear

remember- hope is here.



Hold on to my love



I dont profess to know the future,

Couldnt guess beyond today.

This thread of hope is all I offer

if the fabrics torn away.

Disillusioned, disconnected,

sometimes its hard to see

There is method to this madness,

pattern to this tapestry



When people talk of cutting things,

cutting corners, cutting lines,

ties and losses, apron strings,

connections to another time,

theres something here for you to hold,

as long as youre a child of mine,

this thread is strong as it is fine,

I cried when I wrote this line



Hold on to my love