Seventeen, I'd left behind my<br />
Pleated plaids and navy knee socks,<br />
Stumbled onto campus in my platform shoes.<br />
Feeling young and unafraid <br />
I moved from a passing grade to<br />
Passing bottles in brown wrappers,<br />
Passing out in strangers rooms.  <br />
It was a crazy time; <br />
The world was unraveling.<br />
And I would cling to any line,<br />
To anyone, to anything.<br />
If I could just find my way<br />
To feel familiar tapestry,<br />
To hold a thread of sanity<br />
And someone said to me:  <br />
Hold on to my love, <br />
My love, my love<br />
Hold on to my love  <br />
Now I can see it your eyes;<br />
They look at mine defiantly.<br />
Seventeen-- no surprise<br />
God, you look so much like me!<br />
The style Ive seen before,<br />
The hair, the clothesits all been worn.<br />
Honey, it's the uniform<br />
Of non-conformity  <br />
And history has her patterns<br />
I remember seventeen-<br />
Between the past and the future,<br />
Youre caught somewhere in the seam.<br />
 <br />
And if your dreams no longer fit you,<br />
If the ones you once held dear<br />
Start to fade and disappear<br />
Remember- hope is here.<br />
 <br />
Hold on to my love<br />
I don't profess to know the future,<br />
Couldnt guess beyond today.<br />
This thread of hope is all I offer<br />
If the fabrics torn away.<br />
Disillusioned, disconnected,<br />
Sometimes it's hard to see <br />
There is method to this madness,<br />
Pattern to this tapestry <br />
When people talk of cutting things,<br />
Cutting corners, cutting lines,<br />
Ties and losses, apron strings,<br />
Connections to another time,<br />
There's something here for you to hold,<br />
As long as you're a child of mine,<br />
This thread is strong as it is fine,<br />
I cried when I wrote this line  <br />
Hold on to my love