1. |
dog lake
04:30
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dogs diving into lakes
running out of sight
through the old barbed wire
mouths filled with tar
homes standing up to sun
in their new tan pants
and their fiber lungs
all filled with glass
and the words you say
could cut the grass
if it wasn't dead
when we'd die to be young
will the neighbors stay
growing old to be poor
on their hardwood floors
logs turning into flames
in their red brick frames
while the tv rolls
in waves of laughs
this cast
pain turning into lust
digging into ground
where the old nails rust
and scratch our mouths
can anybody let me in
and the words you say
could cut the core
of the christmas lights
like blood from an orange
and the black water
in the swimming pool
it fills the pump
and the dead leaves
by the laid-down rake
form a battleground
sons leaving town for school
hiding new tan pants
and their christmas cards
inside the trash
jobs leaving town for good
going into debt
for a brand new car
to drive to war
to war
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2. |
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wise cowboy meets an angel from heaven
ten choirs sing in my heart
lone ranger seeks a sign of salvation
bright light to pierce the dark
you pay your dues in spades
i pray to fill the dull days
i stay forever young
you fill your lungs with red dust
wise cowboy meets an angel from heaven
ten choirs sing in my heart
lone ranger seeks a sign of redemption
star sign to cross her arc
and will i learn to grow
wild flowers inside of bleached bones
will you release the deer
that leans into the shadow
and now you sing laments
about the devil's errands
i cry because they don't
abide us playing those dark chords
and now you sing laments
about the fire's dancing
i cry because they don't
let us dance inside its warm glow
wise cowboy meets and angel from heaven
ten fires burn in their hearts
lone angel seeks a sign of redemption
twin worlds are torn apart
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3. |
reflection
04:32
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|
love i see your face
shine upon the lake
i have my reasons
i wear them like a fur
love i hear you voice
speaking of a choice
i choose to believe you
i lean until the raft dives in
anne we wove our love
tight enough to float
it will keep drifting
with neither of us in
will we watch it go
far enough to grow
so doubtful of its edge
it could be any wave
wading through the mire
lark calls me a liar
when all this time gets folded back
a line remains from now to then
and all this time will fold upon that line love
wade into my arms
stay inside my arms
when all this time gets folded back
a line remains from now to then
and all this time will fold upon that line love
when all this space gets folded back
a line remains from here to there
the lake will mirror the image that's behind us
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4. |
father figure
05:13
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|
my aching eyes can't fill the plane
up above the old moraine
though i read of icy glades
the sun can't reach
the lake is high inside the mount
naked on the marbled ground
i sleep away a tarnished skin
and wake inside his
father you love me
why don't you hold me
under the water
into the current
of the cold blue sky
you came to take back
forms that i made you
combing the beach for
hotels of driftwood to spend the night
spend the night
the sunlight is fading my head
the metal scars that mark the cliff
sing their teeth upon the wind
though they tell of human hands
the night draws over them
father you hold me
still you don't know me
half-light old country
bearing the banner
of the dark blue night
you came to take back
all that you told me
it wasn't the foglights
wasn't the forest
or your tired eyes
tired eyes
tell me your story
time will not bathe us in light
no one is holding us inside
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5. |
out of mind
03:47
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|
let it stay in my mind
this thoughtlessness I seem to find
while lying down inside
of your arms at night
let it stay in your heart
the warmth that fills your hands with blood
while you hold my cold hand
til it feels again
the night you came into my room
i fell
the night you came into my room
i fell for you
in the clearing near our home
lined by ravens and rifle songs
we go out at dusk
walking on the beach of snow
the night it came into our room
let us run out of sight
with the powerlines that stretch for miles
while the snow fall fills in
the path we took
didn't it turn out fine
the turn we took that was not right
we can always decide
we are starting here
the night you came into my room
i fell
the night you came into my room
i fell
the day we went for a walk in the woods
i recall
the night you came into my room
and i fell for you
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6. |
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in a way i am nothing
just a hand open hand to the clouds
in a way i'm with all things
head high
on the day i was 19
signed my name to some land from afar
never knew i was lightning
a white fire
dear father, i won't take anymore if you say
your silence gives it away
clear openings, i tear you out from the sky
burned offerings to the sty
in the stream the fire dies
that saw its mirror in wild eyes
on my way to higher ground
the snow drowns
give the forest its last name
laying fence between its glades
there's lives that wander
and those that stay circling
first you kill the flood
then you stem the blood
first you plow the ground
then you find the route
first you kill the bugs
then you fill your lungs
first you plant the seeds
filling up the graves
dear mother, i can't hear you anymore these days
so often, i just see space
white ocean, you'll bury me with the hay
or what of it i did not save
in the road the wires lie
struck by something, the stormy night
there's gales that travel
and those that stay circling
in a way i am nothing
just a hand open hand filling up
in a way i'm with all things
bent down
on the day i was 90
said your name in a wood full of sound
on my way up the long stream
to wild ground
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7. |
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landslide following the burn site
followed by the wildflowers
tramped on by my feet
coatrack emptied by your shoulders
in search of somewhere colder
where there is still blank space
tied up loose ends to mark the path
from what was left of your summer dress
to what rolled under the red wheel of your heart
watch you dress from bed
thank heaven for me
though this ship's a wreck
we hold onto our breath
and dive inside it
wildflowers sitting on your table
tricked by city water
to standing with no roots
the firelookout i dreamed of spending summers
i found upon a green ridge
with windows boarded shut
i get out of bed
the kettle warns me
now the fog has left
ships tangled in their nets
our lights don't find them
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