the light of today, is all yours

i don't blame you 

for taking all the wind out of my sails.

we both know i would've found a way toward you 

had you given me even the faintest of breezes.

my ship was never the steadiest of vessels,

and yet somehow we always found our way to your shores.

now i'm searching all its bends and curves 

for a way to make them still feel like my own. 

so i climbed as high as i could

and lit thirty candles 

with the sun for a flame

on the the wicks of the Los Angeles skyline.

i wished on every last one

for you to find the strength to embrace all the happiness in the world you have always deserved. 

happy birthday to wherever you are. 

i wrapped up the sun,

tied it with a string,

and sent it once around the earth like a balloon, 

hoping it will find you in the morning. 

the light of today, is all yours.

high and low

los angeles is a carnival ride, 

photographed like a day in the park. 

a constant progression of highs and lows, 

fasts and slows, 

with a selfie in between, 

looking like the time of our lives. 

los angeles is the time of our lives 

and always promises the best seat to see the stars, 

only with a sparkle in their eye,

on every street corner and, 

from across the bar. 

i’ll have another drink please,

and one more chance

to make a good impression,

on every constellation

they swore was at the bottom of the glass. 

los angeles is the bottom of the glass, 

one you don’t always bounce back from right away, 

but mean to stick around for a little while. 

a bottom that’ll make you believe you’re standing on a ledge 

and you’ll need to be reminded that we have no where to jump to. 

los angeles can leave you looking like you already did. 

but i’m sorry to any of you who dressed up for a funeral, those church bells were ringing to announce my marriage to my optimism. but please, i hope you're still coming to the reception, i can’t promise i won’t miss some steps, but the dancing has already started in all our favorite memories, and i can promise you, that our glass will always be half-full.

First Listen: Maria Taylor, 'In The Next Life'

Pittsburgh (live)

song for los angeles (live)