Poetry & Photography by Martha Reich

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​SO BRAVE

I held my breath like a Christmas tree
Before it’s cut down on that sacred eve
All I wanted was to never be found
So I would never make one single sound

I held my breath like a lullaby
Perched in a branch just a little too high
All I wanted was to sing
I was too afraid of so many things

The birds they’ll take it all away
Every hurt that you’ve ever sustained
Now you’re riding that tidal wave just trying to be so brave

Held my breath like a flickering flame
Underneath the thunder storms and the rain
All I wanted was to kiss the sky
But I was too afraid that I might die

The birds they’ll take it all away
Everything that made you so afraid
And now you’re riding that tidal wave
Just trying to be so brave

But every breath that I never take

and every time I made a little mistake
Oh I was dying just trying to be

I Held my breath like a butterfly’s wings
Sewn together by a little string
All I wanted was to fly away
I was too afraid so I stayed

The birds they fly everyday
No matter what anyone says
And I’m going to be just like those birds
Just you wait and see





HOPE

Please give me just a few minutes
to feel all that I do.
I promise after that I’ll let it all fall away,
I’ll not bleed all over you

Cause I feel everything around me
It’s not from what I see or hear
My heart only knows when it’s hurting
And how to shed these tears

I’ve heard it’s not the best thing for my disposition
And perhaps I should build me a wall
No matter how hard I try to do that
The tears continue to fall

So I’ll give a piece of my heart to the sky
I’ll give a piece to the sea
I’ll give a piece of my heart to the mountains
And save a piece for the forest and the trees

My gift it is my brokeness
For then I have more to share
And pieces of a heart can be mended
It is the hope of humanities despair

It is the hope my heart is feeling
Look at the sun how it shines
It is the hope my heart’s revealing
Look at the moon beneath it’s veils in the sky

An award winning Santa Fe-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Martha Reich has performed around the world and shared stages with Melissa Crabtree, Consuelo Luz, Gregg Braden,  Reverend Horton Heat and others, as well as opening for Kate Macleod and performing at the Sundance Film Festival. Originally from New England, she received a B. F. A. in illustration from Parsons School of Design and Philadelphia College of Art, but music called and she relocated to Santa Fe in 1999 where she has since released five CDs including the award winning album entitled BRAVE BIRD.

Her 2018 release, BRAVE BIRD, was described as “stunning and heartbreaking” by Americana Highways and earned her a Gold Medal for Female Vocalist in the 2018 Global Music Awards, as well as the LA Critics Award for Best Folk Artist. Often compared to Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, Reich is deeply inspired by nature and her unique style features an honesty and vulnerability that evokes “a sound almost woven out of the earth.”

Reich won the 2019 New Mexico Music Award for Best Singer-Songwriter Song ‘FADE AWAY’ and a Clouzine international Music Award for Best Indie Album 'BRAVE BIRD'. She previously won Global Music Awards in 2017 and 2016, The Southwest Independent Music Award in 2015 and a 2014 New Mexico Music Award for Best Folk Song.

Martha is also a Certified Music Practitioner, playing for Hospital patients, those in Hospice and people living with Alzheimer's and Cancer.

Her music can be heard on PANDORA Radio as well as national and international radio stations.
It is available via iTunes, Spotify, and her website: www.marthareich.com
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