The director and author of this play, Crae Wilson, Sr. wrote that he wanted a song "explaining the importance of life and its relationship to the creative world." This play is about the life of an artist, (painter and sculptor) so it made sense to me to talk about how his art was an attempt to understand the nature of God, and to personalize it by also revealing some of the obstacles that prevent him from reaching that understanding.

V1

In a simple grain of sand is such complexity
I may never understand how such a wonder came to be

I could never duplicate it, I could never recreate it.
Wtih all the tools at my disposal, I can only imitate it!
What sculptor formed the sand? What master painter made the sky?
It surely was an artist with much greater skill than I

All my years I have been yearning for that sacred kind of learning
All the men of art and science cannot hope to understand
How would it feel, to one day make something real?
Reaching out to touch the face of God.

The face of God -
Reaching out to touch the face of God.

V2

What stands in the way of my lofty aspirations?
All things that destroy; things that work against creation:
Substances and sickness kill my body; kill my mind
Addiction has consumed me, sapped my strength, stolen my time

I did not put my heart into the study of the art
I wandered and I faltered and I slowly fell apart
But you have not abandoned me, no you always seemed to see
You knew there was something more that I could do and I could be

You've loved me when I gave you no good reason you should stay
You've stood by me when everyone had walked away
If He loved me like you do, then maybe somehow I'd get through -
Reaching out to touch the face of God.

The face of God
Reaching out to touch the face of God.


V3

And now I am done; my distractions have won.
I've wasted what was given me and now I must move on.
To what, I do not know; and to where, I cannot tell.
If the Rabbi or the Priest are right, it's probably just as well.

But if I were allowed by some faint chance to choose my fate,
I'd learn at the Master's feet what it truly means to create.
And He would teach me skills a master craftsman ought to know:
To sculpt a mountain, paint a desert, or to make a flower grow

I'd watch him; study his technique and learn all that I can,
As he creates his living masterpiece; a work called "Mortal Man."
That's where I want to be, if the choice is up to me:
Reaching out to touch the face of God.


V4

And now in my final hour, will he grant to me the power
To say I'm sorry... Can he forgive me?
Will I get the chance, as I leave the dance?
Reaching out to touch the face of God.

The face of God!
Reaching out to touch the face of God
Reaching out to touch the face of God
Reaching out.......

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