4,000
Fathoms (and Falling)
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-Sailor, Sailor,
whither wander
With your eyes of brown?
-I've wandered on my Lady's chamber;
I've been upstairs and down.
-Sailor, sailor, whither wander
With your eyes of grey?
-I've seen this world from shore to
shore
And no shore can me stay.
-Sailor, sailor, whither wander
With your eyes of blue?
-I go to see the secret things
My Lady saves from view.
-Sailor, sailor, whither wander
With your eyes of green?
-I walk the wild and waving ways
No land-man's ever seen.
-Sailor, sailor, whither wander
With your eyes of black?
-The whither where I go's the whence
I never can come back.
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Clockwork
|
By one o'clock: discovery
By two o'clock: a novelty
By three o'clock: a heresy
By four o'clock: a tragedy
And I
By five o'clock: an amity
By six o'clock: an amoury
By seven o'clock: an armory
By eight o'clock: an enmity
And I
Am still
By nine o'clock: calamity
By ten o'clock: solemnity
By eleven o'clock: a levity
By twelve o'clock: serenity
And I
Am still
Waiting
|
Elcane
|
Oh,
precious blow
Be kind, believer
Enter in, her house is flesh
Else leave, else leave, Elcane, she's in you
You're blossom-perfect, Elcane,
Persuade the ghost
|
Ghost
|
Ghost, faded on the
morning
As you fade into
green
I'll catch you in a net and hold you tight
And rest your
head to nothing on my shoulder
'Til sunlight strips the last of your defenses
I'll find you as, unmoored, you sail
the street
And you melt into green
Ghost, melting into morning |
Ghost, your heart as slow
as sunrise
A place to keep your sparkling secrets in
Save some for me
|
Hope
|
You're cold and worn to thread and bone
But it won't be long now.
You've waited hours in the dark alone
But it won't be long now.
You've wagered more than you'll ever earn
You've heard devils sing and seen angels burn
You've tried your key in every door
The wolves are stretched across your floor
The poison dish is rusted thin
The wax you shed cements you in
When all the stars threw down their spears
And watered heaven with their tears
The grapes they grew were strange and strong and bright
And all that's ever grown in me
The clinging vine esperity
But it won't be long until that crop comes ripe
Your wishes have all bled to grey
You've given all you are away
You can't leave and you can't stay
You can't think of a thing to say
|
Julio
|
Julio, ------ you have to understand:
All the riches in the world can’t make up for lost time.
I didn’t steal you secrets, they were always mine,
Lent to you to feel them warm and heavy in your hands.
Running through the basement with your conscience in your hands
We both know that I’m the only one who understands.
Hang your hat on someday, set your watch by time,
I’ll remember your name if you remember mine.
The holes you built and bridges that you tried to undermine
Lapse into the white noise that echoes from your hands.
You’ve studied half a lifetime, and you still can’t understand
The shifting, supple harmonies accompanying your time.
Julio,------ you have to understand:
I’ll remember your name if you remember mine.
You know you’re nothing special, this happens all the time-
The only difference is the dreams you dropped into the mine.
You let them fall like meteors streaking from your hands
And hoped the sea would carry them to one who understands.
Julio, ------- you have to understand,
The way you run can only buy velocity, not time.
Some things are best guarded just by opening your hands.
I’ll remember your name if you remember mine.
Julio,------- you have to understand:
I’ll remember your name if you remember mine.
|
Lay It Down
|
All my life, i’ve had worry
And i’ve caused it all myself
What you get, you have to pay for
You can’t hand it off to somebody else
But you can lay it down, lay it down
Sword and shield, you got to lay it down
Lay it down, lay it down
All you got, you got to lay it down
We’re rolling like a boulder
Not a thing can make us stay
We pick up what we pass over
And we carry it away
But we can lay it down, lay it down
Hurts and houses, you can lay them down
Lay it down, lay it down
All you got, you got to lay it down
You know how much you carry
You know how much it weighs
How much of it is penitence
How much of it is praise?
Lay it down, lay it down
Friends and fears you got to lay them down
Lay it down, lay it down
What you got, you got to lay it down
All your worries, all your tears,
All your pleasures, planets, worlds,
weights and measures, cups and saucers,
Labors, lovers, lightness, you can
Lay it down, lay it down
All you carry, you can lay it down
Lay it down, lay it down
All you got, you got to lay it down.
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Little Girl
|
Oh, Kelsey (Down the the
Darkest Sidewalks)
|
The
Stranger
|
Someday
You might catch me as I'm drifting through your life
Walking friendship and home like the blade of a knife
You might say "don't be a stranger"
But a stranger's all I know to be
They don't come much stranger than me.
In time
You might tame me to your hand like something wild
You might love me like a mother or a sister or a child
You might say "don't be a stranger"
But a stranger's all I know to be
They don't come much stranger than me.
Leave your window unlocked so I don't have to knock
And lay me a place at the foot of your feast
And smile with your eyes as we fraternize
And smile as you kiss me goodbye
Say "don't be a stranger"
But a stranger's all I know to be
They don't come much stranger than me. |
True
|
The long, tall
twilight
As soft as steel
Taught me to dance, can I take a step with you?
This city cuts you too sharp to feel
Everything you've heard is true, now, true
For all the wrong reasons.
They're down in the counting house, counting old truths
To kill the hunger of five dry days
The flood is free, it's the drought you pay
All our dreams are coming true, now, true
For all the wrong reasons.
Oh, lies, my lover! No other can compare
I got these bruises by accident, I swear
I live in doorways and steps and stairs
And our parting words are true, now, true
For all the wrong reasons. |