1. |
Silence Is Woven
06:16
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I’ve begun to speak
when no one else
is able to hear me
even I’m exhausted
from listening
to the frenzy of
the raving and rambling
warp and weft consumed
by the golden loom
my phrases follow suit
over and under
a tension
the battened cloth wound
in quick succession
silence is woven
worn like sleeves
too wide and long for me
bearers of change
dangling
wrap the taciturn threads
around my swelling head
an eclipse plumage
refusing to shed
these layers cannot fully hide
the blue veins trapped in ice
the limbs dressed as
hanged men by my side
when the nerve stirs the lips
I’ll let the threads slip
held between my teeth
the braided bridle and bit
silence is woven
smothered expressions
like an oil spiral
purling in a drain
the fibers intertwine
as I tie them tight
around my windpipe
slip on the sackcloth
and leather with red rot
to abstain from
the hem and the haw
down to the pit
we’ve all grown silent
pierce our ears with awl
so we can hear it
the low hum
heard by everyone
no refuge for those
with the wise blood
the unraveling
the return of the rambling
we squawk all at once
for the threads come undone
they come undone
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2. |
Tooth & Claw
05:16
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you were staring down the barrel
on the day that we met
it was nothing new
you were accustomed to
playing the poor hand and cheating death
smokeless powder in the chamber
pennies in the well
the coins still glistening
the water not fit to drink
impurities spread
pooled in your chest
soaking your marrow
lacing your breath
whispering a strong bone mantra
screaming a lullaby
please hold on
I knew what I had
before it was gone
this final law
gnashed in the gnaw of nature’s jaw
tooth and claw
you must have had a premonition
isolate as you started to fade
the dignity of peacefully
passing in your own way
I hope you knew how I cared for you
as the teeth finished their grind
I make a plea to praise the living
the way we honor the dead
to nurture this cruel nature
that orchestrates our beginnings and ends
the staccatos and legatos
the warbles and the chimes
in your memory
extend the tenderness
you stirred in me
tooth and claw
it’s all red in tooth and claw
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3. |
Repose
05:02
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spirit dipped
like a paschal candle
in need of flame
the nails intact
encased in holy wax
an offering of feeble faith
symbols it’s been adorned with
have been stripped of significance
common shapes with no purpose
let the fire move through
the virgin wick and candlestick
ashes of ascension
repose in requiem
christened with the dew
from the womb of the dawning
our fervor will emerge anew
after just one stunted gust
the ardor slows to a smoldering crawl
inhale the soot as the columns fall
cough into the altar cloth
name the image on the linen shroud
uttered in pulse but not aloud
silhouettes slowly dance
in stained glass eyes
flesh turned stone on the tongue
flung straight through to deny
repose in requiem
christened with the dew
from the womb of the dawning
our fervor will emerge anew
silhouettes slowly dance
in stained glass eyes
flesh turned stone on the tongue
swallow the sacrifice
repose in requiem
christened with the dew
from the womb of the dawning
our fervor will emerge anew
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4. |
The Long Erode
05:27
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the hunt for content men
ends upon the bluff
with no windows facing the waves
the fantasy’s enough
salt degrades each house
sun dulls board and blade
the abrasion unknown or ignored
bedrock crumbles the same
they take two pockets full
of this warm coarse sand
arrive at the first plot they find
haphazard homeland
passing through I sit
on that pulsing ridge
like the backbone of Leviathan
the calm before the scratch of the itch
the long erode
how long I’ve yearned to be
a beacon on the crest
swiftly pass through every moment I have
stalking what comes next
it may be better still
or it may never be
as tangible as their pockets of sand
but woe is more than me
the long erode
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5. |
Tessera
06:46
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slab of molten glass
chisels in our hands
annealed to cut
pure fragments from
opaque to reflect
pressed into cement
meticulous arrangement
the portrait must answer for us
figures form contorted
along the walls and floors
despite all we’ve done
our immaculate design
is not without flaw
a misplaced tessera
even just one
intention incomplete
we’ll lay out new impressions
until we find that piece
tesserae converge
sparse patterns emerge
methodize
the crude outlines
shards infuse the shape
that our vision takes
vitreous pale images
grotesque against our only wish
figures form contorted now
along the walls and floors
despite all we’ve done
our immaculate design
is not without flaw
a misplaced tessera
icons undone
a raw façade collage
we shall not be judged as I
hold the final pieces
pressed into my palms
alright
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6. |
Mercy Bird
04:29
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we shuffle our feet
to the thrash of the bird with one wing
circling and circling
an obstacle found in everything
a dive with the lurch
quivering, curled in the dirt
harlot land stripped of flower and fruit
crushed bluebird by the heel of my boot
this mercy’s dizzying
take my hand and follow my lead
waltz across the scrambling vines
searching for signs of life
peel back the rinds
free the parched seeds inside
scatter like feathers left
relinquished roots in barren beds
white noise static skies
we tango as one wing flies
forever dip and twist
eternal return to all of this
I hold you up
I hold your gown
I hold you in
I hold you down
I let go and our bodies slow
we sit down, collect what we know
scoop up the heaving creature this time
cradle it close but I squeeze too tight
it may not be for me to decide
if bird returns to earth or sky
which part of this will is truly free
in this punishing mercy?
I hold you up
I hold your gown
I hold you in
I hold you down
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7. |
Father's Day
05:14
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fathers dragged through the streets
deconstruct our histories
I’ll keep the pieces worth remembering
and toss the remnant confetti
on Father’s Day
on Father’s Day
it’s a patricidal cavalcade
on Father’s Day
it’s time to celebrate
on Father’s Day
barricades with scrawled surnames
mothers sit by their windows and wave
children fish the bits from the grates
silver flakes and black water traits
on Father’s Day
on Father’s Day
it’s a patricidal cavalcade
on Father’s Day
it’s time to celebrate
on Father’s Day
the parade dwindles to the first born
the seconds, the thirds, the fourths
lugging these loads along the course
laid out for the brood of the bloodline forged
on Father’s Day
on Father’s Day
it’s a patricidal cavalcade
on Father’s Day
it’s time now don’t be late
on Father’s Day
how long must we carry you
before we can bury you?
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8. |
This Contagious Room
05:30
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another night
I’ve learned to breathe
in humid fumes
hovering above me
contagious room
the ceiling drips
the body glows
on the crucifix
sick call set
the sacrament
until you’re safe
there is no rest
I chant your name
on every street
you tempt demons
an unanswered prayer for peace
if I let it all
defeat me
gravel pressed
into my knees
allow it to
beat me hollow
a covenant
to heal in our home
how fleeting this relief
captured, released
I’m stretched out in unrest again
but my forgiveness has its limits
is it because I’m weak
or is it loyalty
that keeps me ill, waiting for you
in this contagious room?
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Dry Wedding Portland, Oregon
PDX Post-Cowpunk
Davey Ferchow
Jarrod Green
Chadwick Ferguson
Tom Fuller
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