When She Plays

When She Plays Solveig Leithaug Finding Home For my sweet mother-in-law, Sharon Rose Chaffee, a fine church pianist For 40 years, who returns to us from Alzheimer's when she plays. Mother hasn't been quite herself for some time She's been doing things without reason or rhyme Words don't come easy, her sentences odd The meaning is jumbled, so I listen and nod When she plays, oh she plays her piano It is just like she played years ago And her fi ngers familiarly linger Over keys she so lovingly knows Like a dream, so sublime For this window in time She returns when she plays Mother's got her mufflers and winter coat on It's a hundred and one where she sits in the sun Mother wandered off just the other day She went down to the mailbox and then lost her way Songs of a lifetime bridging rivers of distance Language of music seems to know no resistance So I marvel and listen, as she soars and she shines And I can't help feel like this moment's divine Stories and memories of past generations Hymns to a God who's ancient yet present She plays all her favorites, song after song And I wish I could stop time from ticking on Mother once was known for her beauty and flair Her humor exquisite, how deeply she cared Mother pours her iced tea right into her shoes The light in her eyes has been so painful to loose CCLI Song ID: 7005673