THE WOMAN

Suddenly I run aground, in a rotating place
It's not a house-maybe it's a merry-go-round made
like a house. Towers are connected by a gallery where
     people move about, real fast.
Inside, there is a woman-what she says sounds
Familiar - is it her saying it? Or is it me?
When the rotation lessens, she appears in the center
     She seems to suffer with her eyes closed
     And her head thrown back.
She goes from the swarm of the gallery
To the motionless center -
     Until a mantle of snow covers the whole
     place over.

I'm a self -made woman
Shine your light on me
I'm always in control of 
My own destiny 

I like getting off on my thoughts 
Way out here in no man's land
Where I can breathe
And follow my star 
My sight is unbroken 
No words tender and golden 
Can hold me 

I'm a self-made woman 
Fighting the unknown 
And unafraid to challenge 
Nights spent all alone 

As I go through my life 
Some things I won't deny 
There have been days that seemed 
So much easier 
Looking through someone's eyes 
But I am the kind of woman 
Love does not complete 
I'm never out there looking 
For that man to meet 

I have had my share of rainbows 
Rodeos and one-man bands 
Disrespectful lovers 
And gigolos 
I loved them in some ways 
In my less serious days 
Before I 

Chose to be the woman 
I was born to be 
Forever in control of 
My natural destiny 

And as I go through my life 
Some things I won't deny 
Freedom is something
I will not ever see 
Looking through someone's eyes

:: lyric by Kathleen Wakefield
:: performed by Nanette Workman
:: drawing by Milton Glaser