1. |
hellebore
04:27
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As time worn on,
my brain grew more
and more infected by
these memories.
The light burned my eyes
and wherever I looked
I could see the traces of
a world already ended.
I razed these fields
of hellebore where
they bloomed in the
dark of winter.
I scraped the bark
from where your name was
carved and watched the trees
wither. I wept over open
flames where the tears
couldn’t wet the parched earth.
Here the snakes hide
in the piles of dead leaves
and I slither along in the
dirt with them,
searching for the last bit
of warmth as the
sun disappears again.
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2. |
frozen wind
03:12
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The cold changes the direction of
the magnetic fields and where
we were pushed away now we are
pulled through the ridges and gullies
carved in the side of the mountain.
The air carries the frozen wind
like arrows slung from the curling hooks
of the moon. And the king’s troops
all dressed in blue- at the crest of every wave,
lighting each opposite end of the sky.
Again the moon whispered in the
fading light. Instructions no man
could follow. Your face was glowing
in the twilight, the lines sharper than
in the heat of the day. I read your lips
as you tried to reason with the sky.
How else could this end, you said
as the fire died over the horizon.
These old wounds, they ache again
bodies torn limb from limb.
Set adrift, spinning. A point not found
on any map.
As the wheel spins faster you see a
version of yourself on the other side,
a cloud of smoke, another sun, a celestial
body- eyes like an animal, blood boiling,
fingers dripping with light.
Blind to reality and dragged into the night
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3. |
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It was us who bled the cattle into the river. Then
we cried out when we couldn’t see what waited
there below the water’s surface. Where were the
rest of these souls that clawed their way from hell.
The dead spoke in an ancient language when
a hand brushed against my face
there was no one there, that I could see
we could still chase the truth
that for them was just out of reach.
There were directions carved in stone
models made out of clay, but no one there
to decipher them, no one even moved
a doubt that froze and kept them still.
What sign could these endless sands give us
they hadn’t promised to every traveler before them.
We continued on with no intention of ever reaching the
end. We were all tricked again
The deeper we make our way
through this labyrinth the further we stray from the light.
The more lost we become, the more we see there is nothing to find.
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4. |
empty bottles
04:06
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These grave sites marked with empty bottles,
these dreams trapping us in warped and faded memories,
these puddles that reflect a twisted sky, a blistering sun.
These howls that rise to a symphony
This sun that drinks our blood
The man chained to his fate who declares himself free.
These regrets that wear us down and the torture
that builds us back up.
This hate that runs through our veins and the
water that runs through these streets.
These cars left running on the side of the road.
This hunt and this hunger
these burnt offerings
these unanswered prayers
And these other worlds- so much like our own, no one could
possibly look after them all.
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5. |
covered in dust
03:27
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My flesh is bitten ripped and twisted
does your image of me contain these
scars and blemishes?
Does it run with blood?
I can feel this ideal form-
a false image lost in the desert
my soul, now a burning sun.
I’ll teach myself to live in that
barren land
covered in dust,
breathing the last
of the salted air.
And when my soul finally fades
then you’ll bring me back
a lost boy in this tortured world,
an image without form
a beast wandering without meaning
last flicker of life dancing behind empty eyes
ripped through endless time
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6. |
blind
04:35
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The lone light on the horizon
orients us in the dark.
Before that-
the snow would fall and
the smoke would rise
but with no sight of it
we lumbered on, unsteady-
one hand gripping yours,
the other outstretched to the void.
The blind leading the blind.
Our eyes yearned for the
light of the day but it never came.
The painful gifts of the sublime
another vision of the silence lost in flames
We had to bury this totem
where the sun would never
find it. When the remnants of
this world are finally
entombed in these remote
reaches
something never seen
will have the chance to emerge
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7. |
dragged down
04:47
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The golden light turns red as the day is dragged
down to hell. They hold open our eyes as
we gaze into the fire. These hooks in our skin
hold our bodies in place. The roots of the upturned
trees slither like snakes and curl around our legs.
There we find comfort where we can no longer move.
Dragged by our necks. Given just enough to survive.
A trail of piss is all that's left behind
and no moisture left – these tears run dry
With parched tongue and
grated cords we still sing these hymns. There is
no hope but we play pretend. Dancing like children
if we could only escape. I
I feel myself dissolve locked into place,
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8. |
stained glass
03:04
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The entire sky was lit with a rare fire, never seen before. It
filled each crack between the branches with a different color
like stained glass. The creatures were all silent
as they worshiped at their altar
hidden in the woods
On through the crooked paths to where a fallen shack
still partially stood- all crumbled stone and cracking wood
The moon was close enough that I could reach
out and touch it, my fingers numb
in the piercing cold.
The whole scene was familiar- I’ll have
to ask if you remember it, when
we meet again. I have so many questions
for you. Like can you hold a single
second forever or will each one be lost
as time moves on.
I want to remain here but I too must move along,
I need to return before the wolves come out.
As I make my way back I can see the
symbols you’ve carved over my footprints, and now I know
I’m cursed to walk forever,
cursed to never return.
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9. |
portal
04:04
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The box where we placed your body
was a portal, to another world in our
time, or our world at another time.
Either way I eagerly await your
reply. You came here through a
hole in the ocean, riding the rushing
water that circled ‘round- bending like
light and pulled through the event horizon.
You called without speaking, you died
a thousand times and predicted a thousand
more. You remembered without learning.
And you cried, though you knew you were
not alone.
You were there when lady death walked
her hell-hounds through the twisting paths
of her vineyard. these unholy grapes
grown only to mock his blood. Your cup
overflowed, before you fell down drunk
And the fire you built
that night where unearthly creatures crawled
through the smoke and we couldn’t find
them all- off they fled into the night. And
you told me then not to worry, there wasn’t
much harm we could do to this world that
hadn’t been done already.
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