This day is no special day
This day will see no placards given
This day will see no no dismembered limbs
Yet there buzzes a distant chainsaw
Whose sound comes in and out on the tinned wind
This day is a slow gesture
This day is just clearly not ready
It hopes for a year of iron clarity
But waits for the cues from the coming weeks
And for moss and stares ....? ....?
It's not clear how this day will end
But I have put my money down
On having a clear view from this house to the heavens
And back again, it's not clear how this day will end
Ahh!
This day feels like a cold engine
With a tank of old gasoline
Live your own mornings on ether
Old ship, give me your hands.
Im the cape that came to crush and snag you on my sands.
Below the ocean, and from my point of view,
You were always drinking, and drunk well before noon,
And dreaming on my pillow of high tide.
But Id allow you.
Old friend, give me back my hands.
Im the crutch thats missing, and youre the crippled little lamb.
Great white puffs of lumbering buffalo
Blanket the fishbowl sky, and I am tired.
I sip my tea and sniff the ocean.
Not but an hour from now, I will be home.
Swing me low, mark me a coward.
The whims of the West must die.
Here is the resting ground.
here is my smile, my pink little toes.
(Bound to your oil machines)
Death to the civilized.
(Hoarding the land and sea)
Death to the civilized.
(Stolen through violent means)
Death when all want masquerades as need.
The marbled godwit line the coast.
I grasp for my straw cap;
I'm lashed to my brave little raft.
The waves do toss this worthy vessel,
Impress on my tiny brain
This strange and dangerous beauty.
I feel it's scale,
I feel its industry.,
Making a flea of us
And dusting us off
And talks in a hush,
A little disappointed.
(Bound to your oil machines)
Death to the civilized.
(Hoarding the land and sea)
Death to the civilized.
(Stolen through violent means)
Only through the teeth of life
I see my ancient figure
My hands are strong
My eyes are endless
Oh, and my mind is the open ocean
That swells and broils with wild invention
In my great sun
Without boundaries
My love's a giant welt
My heart is burning
Oh, through the teeth of life
A brilliant flame in a dark time
Oh, and the fleeting sun
Oh, the wild, gold beauty
So consumed, so removed
In the far reaches
O, resilient light
You are strong and sure without me
You are boldly dismantling
Oh, through the teeth of life
A brilliant flame in a dark time
Oh, and the fleeting sun
Oh, the wild, gold beauty
So consumed, so removed
In the far reaches
O, resilient light
You are strong and sure without me
You are boldly dismantling
Oh, and the fleeting sun
Oh, the wild, gold beauty
So consumed, so removed
In the far reaches
O, resilient light
You are strong and sure without me
My sweetheart and I will retire,
Will retire to the tide pools.
And we'll fix our meals of crabs and krill in the long
afternoon.
And we'll shed our skin,
For a shell from a wise old snail who is singing:
Slow down.
At the base of the dunes with the algae bloom and the
heron,
Here we sit all day and wait and wait for the tide to
come crashing.
And we'll shed our skin because we know where it's been,
And we know this hymn:
Slow down.
Lost, lost, in this torrent,
Drowned in the deep of this over-sweet porridge,
Blind to to all of the blood and carnage.
Put my dreams in my hands so I know I'm sure
Give me all that I want from this giant world
But you can't seem to not tell it up
So we know the storm
Show me how I'm a man
Show me the light
Show me the wins of the day and the debts of the night
But you can't seem to not show me all that you sacrificed
And, well, nothing is harder
Than to know how much I still owe you
You could move like a silver cloud through the skies
You could move like a secret and slip past my life
But you can't seem to quit moving words around to show
who was right
And, well, nothing is harder
With my toes dangling into the sea,
Into a fog, into a lonely drink.
Don't lift me up,
I'm a wreck, I know.
Still, I've got miles to walk from the cape along the
coast.
And we'll play helicopter in the sand
And bite our thumbs at the acquaintances,
And make it known we're on par for the evening,
And take the butcher's knife through my words again.
Then in walk the mannered men
With their smokescreen yes.
And the sequined girls
With their skirts hemmed high.
And you will know from this
That it's all to start.
Our glasses clink,
And our plastic swords stab our olive hearts.
All night like a friendly ghost
We haunt the ins and outs of this house of our gracious
host
And give thanks, but not much helps.
And so here is where we give the toast:
Cheers to the wives of the drunks.
Cheers to the husbands that tag along for good luck.
Cheers to the miles it took to get here.
Cheers to the the nerve it takes to forget who we are.
Then in walk the mannered men
With their smokescreen eyes.
And the sequined girls
With their skirts hemmed high.
And you will know from this
That it's all to start.
Our glasses clink,
I don't need from you a waterfall of careless praise
And I don't need a trophy for all the games I've played
But all I want is your eyes
In the morning as we wake
For a short while
And I don't need you to catch my wanderin mind
And I don't expect a southern girl to know the northern
lights
And all I want is your eyes
In the morning as we wake
For a short while
And I do need the wind across my pale face
And I do need the fern to unfurl in the spring
And I do need the grass to sway
Yes I do need to know my place
But all I want is your eyes
In the morning as we wake
I cracked my knuckles, and I said grace
And gave thanks for being a hundred and still feeling amazed.
Out where the waves wrestle with the dirty brine,
This is a lonely place. This was a home of mine.
After the struggle, Id watch the sand settle
Over the quiet reef. Its my oldest memory.
And I dont know whose land were on.
Is this an island that plots like a villain,
Or an old ghost friend we dont believe in?
I dont know.
I curse the weapon we stub our toes on.
Its the land of make believe, cant you see, cant you see?
Now in the dirt where I put my feet, and in the trunk of my body,
Im only shy, here, when I want to be, my head between my cypress knees.
And in the top of the canopy of the trees I am climbing,
The morning sun here, you will see. Its my oldest memory.
And I dont know whose land were on.
Is this an island that plots like a villain,
Or an old ghost friend we dont believe in?
Is this an island that plots like a villain,
Or an old ghost friend we dont believe in?
Were comin out again, comin right out with our swords,
With a swing and a miss, and a belly full of bricks,
We lay heavy on the Earth, tethered to our words,
And try so hard not to stutter, though I dont know what for.
And each one has eyes in the honest places,
But will turn wonder into weeds.
Listen through the walls. The wave has got to break soon.
Only so many nails to a room, only so much could it support.
The floorboards sigh to the sway of the dance that could keep going
All night and peel away the dawn.
And I am a peach down in the forest of knives and snakes and mesquite,
Where all is a dream, all eyes on me, and I bite my nails till they bleed.
I see your claws come off and your knees come out
Like an iceberg, like a secret offer.
Sailing the waves of that icy morning,
While all in between theres a new wind blowing.
And I am a peach down in the forest of knives and snakes and mesquite,
Where all is a dream, all eyes on me, and I bite my nails till they bleed.
And the warblers sing: deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!
And the sparrows sing: deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!
Through the wheels, through the wheels on the interstate,
And hear no refrain.
And the beetles creep (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
On the crippled trees, (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
And they look down to where the soil must have been, wondering.
And no, youre not alone. No, my cousins, youre not alone.
Youre in our talons now, and were never letting go.
And the branches bend (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
To the growing sea. (deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet!)
And they ask, and they ask it to spread their seeds,
For they know theyre drowning.
And no, youre not alone. No, my cousins, youre not alone.
Youre in our talons now, and were never letting go.
Youre in our headlights, frozen, and no, were not stopping.
You may not believe, but even we were scared at first.
It takes a lot of nerve to destroy this wondrous earth.
When I wake, I wake by the brook,
To an untamed thunder,
And the northern flicker flash about
as the soup in the sky grows thicker.
But I tip my cap and curtsy and I take no offense
Because there is no hate in your darkest cloud.
No ill intent.
Yet there is hate all around.
On its hind legs, rears this storm, and the pines bend
from its wily sword.
Yet there is no war, no war,
No quarrel here at all.
And the deer shake in their hooves and shield their fawn.
And when the rain comes, the rain comes.
No judgement falls.
Yet there is hate all around.
There's a rusty prick in the tall grass,
Where the barbed wire waits for a blind horse in a gallop
and its sealed and sudden fate.
There is hate in the grip of our human hands.
There is hate in the grip of our human hands.
There is hate in the grip of our human hands.
One morning you wake to find
you are shackled to your bed
and bound and gagged
Oh my, what a predicament
And further, further on
the day grows long
Your sister marries a nice young man
and they build a house of diamonds
But the sun is snuffed by the curtains
Can't someone come untie you?
But there is too much work to do
Yes, they all admire you
You are free
You are already free
You are already free
You are free from the greed of your culture
You are free from the lust for the luster
of the diamond houses in the city's cluster
From your own ego, from your own blunder
Yes, you own the stars, you own the thunder
But you have to share
Yes, you own the stars, you own the thunder
But you have to share it all
You are free
You are already free
Back to when I was born on a full moon,
I nearly split my mama in two,
While she held me proud I had the thought:
Well, there's no one more beautiful than you.
Ahhhhh ahhhhhhh
And you're the kindlin' still that burns below my heart,
And you're the hooves that lead me through the forest.
Ahhhhh ahhhhhhh
And you're the kindlin' still that burns below my heart,
You're the memory now that lives across the world,
While the wind howls low and tries to steal my hours,
At the margins of the land i get to know your skin
Where the sand dunes slope into a wild ocean
Where the great plain heaps into a jagged mountain
Oh I feel your heart swell with the ghost life here
So magnificent
And yet some days we are stones cold and stuck
Whether in time or place or head or heart
But dear we'll never feel the years with the wind at
our backs
And we can live our days in a ghost life here
So magnificent
Oh blood
Ocean blood
Salty blood
Flows like torrents through our hearts
And knows just what it wants
Love
Shapeless love
Wild, tireless love
Fast in the free ether
Ghostly white
And seething hot
Ocean sigh
Dark mirror shine
Swift to the backs of our eyes
On the shore of the lake,
In the great upstate of New York,
Came the call of a loon.
Cold, cold, o'er a plume of smoke.
He spoke to my center
He spoke of the future.
He sang, "You, my friend, are alone, alone."
We live with the cockroach
And we split our cords of oak
And keep this wood stove burning
While the bitter winds are blowing.
We stow our words in the cellar
So we never lose hope,
And keep this wood fire stoked
While the bitter winds blow.
Alone on the land,
In the love of the dirt again,
There's a sharp, jagged winter
At the center of my home.
Of my blood and bones,
That sleets and snows and makes me shiver.
But you, my heart, I will never know.
We live with the cockroach,
And we split our cords of oak.
And keep this wood stove burning
While the bitter winds are blowing.
We stow our words in the cellar
So we never lose hope,
And keep this wood fire stoked
I was born a ghost
An apparition
Filled with holes
And contradiction
And I fear I'm the only one
So I wake early
Watch the leaves quake
And the first light braze the trees
I hide myself in a secret place
Here I know my heart
I know it's careless
But, darling, you seem like you're feeling sad
Maybe you're my perfect fix
My conscience is
My conscience is an avalanche
Majestic
Bewildering
And holy and careless
I live with the tides
I live in reverence
And know the days are endless, endless
But, darling, you seem like you're anxious
My conscience is
My conscience is an avalanche
Majestic
Bewildering
And holy and careless
Crooked lust
Crooked lust
My conscience is
My conscience is an avalanche
Majestic
Bewildering
And holy and careless
Crooked lust
Oh the chimes are sounding
And they echo wildly off the canyon walls
Well this is wild land, hold me
These are ancient songs that fill my body
Oh the light is astounding
It's golden lashes sweetly overgrown
Well this is my joy smiling
The room calls to me, says were all strung out
(And the beat we both stomp on the floor),
While outside the leopard frogs sing sweetly.
These are the hymns that today we've ignored.
And all across the desert, and all up in the mountains:
A wind so loud that we might never mention.
And heres to my lovers hands and feet.
They are the roots that will weave through the floor.
And down in the dirt, in her wandering,
Find the snail to give us breath, to give us words.
He asks us for our patience, he asks us for our patience,
And he asks us what we have done for our souls lately.
Down by the bur oak tree, I had lost your locket in the loam,
And there fell to my knees, neath the coil and the brush of the fern.
The candles light dances across the table,
And will burn at the tip of my pen.
And lures all the moths into the kitchen
To spin tales and bend truths through the evening.
Bright future
Bright pink
Bright light in my eyes
All these desert cities
Giant heart
Down in this dust
Fell to the earth
At a fascinating speed
Further up
In the ponderosa
The nervous cayuse cat awailin'
Their choruses foreboding
Couldn't you've stayed on the ground
Couldn't you've stayed on your feet
But your mind was wound so tightly
Always bold and wise and unsettling
I live in your tall trees amongst your fearless leaves
Saw the bright colors, bright future
The night is patient
The night's a glass dome
The night is still and cold
But this desert can turn
Your restless mind
Was born in a flash
And you lived in these clouds
With light day in your feet
Yes your mind was wound so tightly
Always bold and wise and unsettling
I live in your tall trees amongst your fearless leaves
I was a child of the grasslands with an oversized heart
They gave me an inch, and I'd roam the whole yard
And well past the corn fields, there I'd understand
How the world is dust and I'm dust, and we're honest
So if you want to play, I'm wide open
I'll bring my friends, Mary and Annie, on down to the quarry
And in the late autumn sun we'll find the words to dwell upon
Yes, and I'm dust, and you're dust and we're honest
My name, it means nothing. My age, it means less.
The country I come from, is called the MIdwest
And I was taught by the land to think right for myself
And that the man knows all the rules but I know best
Yes and I'm dust, and you're dust and we're honest.
Oh, brave world, how have you changed? I'm still unsure.
Your hat is hung in the very same place
Your shoes are scuffed, your shirt is untucked.
I could bleed, bleed, bleed for days
but my heart would still beat for you dear
Yet we carry on
like a storm
like we've no idea where we're coming from
But the rain will subside by the morning
I could drag my legs across the desert
but my lips would still thirst for you dear
Yet I feel your gaze like a furnace
Though it burns, I go on; I keep crawling
And the moon will rise in the evening
and I'll fall to sleep beneath your tree,
and the wind will howl through your leaves
and serenade me
You don't own me
but I'll take your lead down a gnarly thicket in the trees
And we're soon lost, and we're terrified
but I'll always find my way to your eyes
And the moon will rise in the evening
and I'll fall to sleep beneath your tree
and the wind will howl through your leaves
Where's that horse you rode in on?
Where's that fair-faced young man?
You carried their dead weight and let it fall by the wayside
And buried those years one dark evening
Now in a land without leaders
I listen close to the ? ?
And keep my heart with yours
And yes, we know there're others
And yes, we feel the ground shifting below us
Keep, keep the secret
Walk the furrows
Mend the fences
Plum, plum and level
Go inside
Stow the shovel
Keep, keep the secret
Walk the furrows
Mend the fences
Plum, plum and level
Go inside
Stow the shovel
Now it's time
Keep the kettle
Let the waters
Tell the story
Keep the joy
Keep the quiet
No, you're not shy
You have that fire
Smoldering
Keep the joy
Keep the quiet
No, you're not shy
Keep the fire
I was born a ghost
An apparition
Filled with holes and contradiction
And I fear I'm the only one
So I wake early
Watch the leaves quake
And the first light braze the trees
I hide myself in a secret place
Here I know my heart
I know it's careless
But darling, you seem like you're fearless
And maybe you're my perfect fix
My conscience is, my conscience is an avalanche
Majestic, bewildering and holy and careless
Crooked lust, crooked lust
My conscience is an avalanche
I live with the tides
I live in reverence
And know the days are endless, endless
But darling, you seem like you're anxious
My conscience is, my conscience is an avalanche
Majestic, bewildering and holy and careless
Crooked lust, crooked lust
My conscience is an avalanche
My conscience is an avalanche
Majestic, bewildering and holy and careless
Crooked lust, crooked lust
I couldn't feel the earth move
in its slow dance with the cold moon,
as I picked my steps over the ridge,
quiet on my leather soles.
I couldn't see the full sun this afternoon.
I couldn't see the ferns as they bent and bowed.
I couldn't see your eyes as clear as I ought to,
as I crouched along the bank with you.
There is a pull between our hearts, love.
There is an empty, open mind
in the flock of swallows diving,
diving and turning, diving and turning.
With the black winged birds
circling
in the glass pane of the creek,
in the column of air
to the tall white sky,
and in everything in between,
and in everything in between.
But, hush, says your mouth on my warm neck.
Hush, says the stream, as it coils around.
Hush, my mind is much too loud.
Let my breath, like the tide, go out.
I feel the pull between our hearts, love.
I feel the empty, open mind
in the flock of swallows diving,
diving and turning, diving and turning.
With the black winged birds circling
in the glass pane of the creek,
in the column of air
to the tall white sky,
Now I know your light.
I know myself.
I still don't know much else.
You race toward the future.
I'm slow as a kettle.
And we waltz on a tilted world,
torn socks and all those frills.
Your gait like a mares is,
and mine like a drunk sailor
fumbling towards a dark future.
And what are we doing now in a world, a world half broken?
going through half, just half of the motions?
nd what makes a man, you ask?
Strong limbs or his featured cap?
Well, I just say none of that.
Surely it's you because I had a death wish
A call card to a dark abyss.
I choked in a gasp of it,
and then I found you, such a brave swimmer.
And you pulled me with you.
And where are we going now in a world, a world half broken?
I'm the red bird, you're the brown bird
In the brambles behind the house
And we both know what the wind does
And I can't make peace just yet
So this is my branch, my darling
Today I feel the weight
And we both know how sudden the colors change
Oooh
But you held me to my word,
And you held my gaze so tight,
And you told me this is all ours.
While our eyes still pool with light,
This is our sweet moment,
Watch the clouds skirt the sun,
Watch the orange grass wrestle,
The monster wind.
Just come down from a high fever,
from out there in the yard
While the pyre is burning, it's hard to feel the weather shift
or the fear of the dark
Ahhh
This year we need a deeper frost
Me and my meadowlark
Under the winter's fears
Out where the tree line starts
Down on the north slope
Down to the creek
Hold tight til spring
On and on goes the long winter
My eyes now fixed to the stars
We've been there before and I'm fairly sure we'll find a clearing
in the forest of our hearts
Ahhh
This year we need a deeper frost
Me and my meadowlark
Under the winter's fears
Out where the tree line stops
Down on the north slope
Down to the creek
Hold tight til spring
But you know I'm not an activist,
not in the purest sense
I'm not a pacifist
I know which rules to bend
I just reveal my name
and show my love
out in the hallows
Ohhh
This year we need a deeper frost
Me and my meadowlark
Under the winter's fears
Out where the tree line stops
Down on the north slope
Down to the creek
Well, the light was rust, and the cold was in our knees,
and our breath poured out over golden fields
Though I could not know then, we'd have but few times like these,
with all the good smoke in between
Tucked the darkness in, dragged the harrow across the land,
found my fresh start, sowed my wildest dreams
Though I could not know then, I was well in the weeds,
a tangled mess, whatever could come next
before the hours took over,
before the full weight was on our shoulders,
before the twilight's cover,
before I knew time was such a swindler
Oh my dear friend, everything falls to death
We tuck the darkness in, we tuck the darkness in
Oh my dear friend, everything falls to death
All the while the sea oats bowed
Against the dunes, your arms stretched out.
And how the shadows glide;
The story hastens by.
We hold on tight.
The drafty night lets the quiet in
And our breath in the same motion.
There's a hope that we have what we need.
Stitch the hem along the edge of these scenes and colors.
Find the form in the patient sea.
The nature is a vibrant quilt,
And all I want is it all stretched out,
Through the tattered edge,
Through the long afternoon,
The sun snuffed out, in the palm of the ocean.
The drafty night lets the quiet in
and our breath in the same motion.
There's a hope that we have what we need.
Stitch the hem along the edge of these scenes and colors.
Find the light in our tiny (?)
Find the damp in out heart's intentions,
And how I know I'm happy now
I jump right down the shoots of time
And yes the weather was not always grey
But the furrow always graced my brow
Mmmm
Now I'm overcome with light, overcome with light
Overcome with light, overcome with light
Yes we had some hard work but now it's right
Overcome with light, overcome
And my worries then, were not grand
But I felt them like a hammer pounding
Like I really feel, feel them now
And in the page, I know I'm dreaming
Mmmm
Now I'm overcome with light, overcome with light
Overcome with light, overcome with light
Yes we had some screams but now it's right
Overcome with light, overcome
Overcome with light, overcome with light
No you're not alone,
The sun pours in slow,
The hinges creek,
Now the sparrows know,
And flash their wings.
These mornings, these mornings.
No you're not alone,
The valley is flushed and warm,
And breaths a lazy mist,
Take your time with it,
All of it,
And what we miss we miss,
And what we see is what we get.
Down the red dirt path,
Me and my true love,
We thought we'd have forever,
And now we hurry on,
And what we miss we miss we miss,
And what we see is what we get,
And what we miss we miss we miss,
And what we see under the sun is what we get.
And in the knurled paths,
Just me and my.
We used to see the forest
Now we see the trees,
We know where this is going.
Down the red dirt path,
Me and my true love,
We thought we'd have forever,
And now we hurry on,
And what we miss we miss we miss,
And what we see is what we get,
And what we miss we miss we miss,
And what we see under the sun is what we get.
No you're not alone,
The valley is flushed and warm,
No you're not alone,
You're not alone,
On a lazy mist,
Take your time with it,
Take your time with it,
All of it,
Last night I dreamed we'd found a stand of trees
framing a pond and a field in between.
And with a hammer and a blade and our four hands,
here's what we made.
The logs we peeled and stacked in a ring,
and then we crowned it, our tiny house, with tin.
And by the fire, flickering bronze and gold across your face,
I heard you say:
It may not be a grand parade of snow capped peaks,
no river silver-backed crashing through,
but we have our black-haired babes running free
through the woods.
Squirrels in the rafters, wrens in the eaves,
red dirt neath our nails, orange stains on our knees,
blackberries in June down the path without our shoes.
It may not be a grand parade of snow capped peaks,
no river silver-backed crashing through,
but we have our black-haired babes running free
