Wounded by Beauty (ALIVE in Des Moines Version) [Draft 6]

[Quiet applause; a complete clean-guitar phrase] [Spoken - Vox, gentle] Augustine tells a little fable about the love of beauty and the love of wisdom. He pictures them as sisters. The love of beauty can become caught in desire; wisdom helps it recognize the beauty it truly seeks. Our song answers that image with skies, music, and a longing to understand. The feeling opens a question. We still have to follow it toward truth. This is Wounded by Beauty. [A short instrumental breath; original verse begins softly] [Original song - retain its melody and lyric order] A streak of color in the sky A song that made me want to cry A whisper in a painted light That shattered me but felt so right I couldn’t prove it couldn’t name But something deep was not the same I was wounded by beauty Struck in the soul Not by logic or by duty But something whole A glimpse of glory I can’t defend But it broke me open to start again They say it’s nothing just a spark A trick of light a passing lark But if it’s hollow why this ache Why does my sleeping spirit wake Truth may hide in mystery’s face But I have touched its trembling grace I was wounded by beauty And I still bleed Not with pain but with the need To know what called me through that flame What whispered softly my true name The stars don’t argue they just shine And stir a longing that feels divine A songbird’s cry a child’s smile Can carry truth across the miles I was wounded by beauty And I’m still raw But in that wound I saw the law Of something good beyond debate And I will chase it Though it makes me wait [Original final cadence completes; appreciative applause]