helplessly hoping

Stand by the stairway, you'll see something certain to tell you. My dad spotted an M. C. Esher-esque photo op.

I present to you selections from Crosby, Stills & Nash, pieced together with colored patches of my own. Wrap up in the quilt!

Helplessly hoping her harlequin hovers nearby 
H... h... h... hahhhh. I love the way alliteration hums along.
Awaiting a word 
Accompanied by the sound of silence: In restless dreams I walked alone/narrow streets of cobblestone. Narrow streets, elsewhere: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:13-14.
Gasping at glimpses of gentle true spirit 
How might a spirit be both gentle and true? How easily I supply the former, often in a feigned fashion. Is it really possible to hold others higher than oneself?
He runs wishing he could fly only to trip at the sound of good-bye... 
Alas, poor fellow. Every good-bye leaves the tingly possibility of another hello. 


Stand by the stairway, you'll see something certain to tell you 
S... s... s... My fourth grade teacher gave everyone detention for hissing.
Confusion has its cost 
Best to speak, for silence leaves more room for misinterpretation.
Love isn't lying, it's loose in a lady who lingers
Lingering... Waiting for the denouement, answer, affirmation.
Saying she is lost and choking on hello
So be patient with her. 


They are one person, they are two alone
They are three together, they are for each other.
Hey, Plain White T's! I've spotted a maybe-root of the song "1234": There's only one way/two say/three words/for you. The syntactic idea is the similar, but the sentiment differs. "1234" is aglow with warm love, but in "Helplessly Hoping," love is distant, and demands third-person treatment

Here's the actual song, uninterrupted by globbish glibbering. I also have a soft spot for the King's Singers' rendition.