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makeshift future

this twinkle speculates: whether the organ is worthy 

or if the hourglass is more – lest it musters a makeshift future

 

the hourglass stands tall, sustained by sand like a mountain, 

or withered slowly like a shore, sheppard the ocean a little closer

 

tectonic future calls, bringing our feet to Victoria 

with nothing but a protocol to feed the dying population

 

hypothetically we’d build a home in this city, theoretically it’d vanish in a year

hypothetically we’d have the sea all to ourselves, theoretically you’d be the perfect company 

 

our bodies congregate, rummaging through every layer

through every unseen earthly fate, we’re only in a makeshift future

 

i’d like a cradle song, would you be so kind to offer?

this twinkle will not last so long, sound don't travel below water

 

hypothetically we’d build a home in this city, theoretically it’d vanish in a year

hypothetically we’d have the sea all to ourselves, theoretically you’d be the perfect company 

wild birds unlimited

flying up a mile wide valley, flying up a burning creek

wonder if the wind will bring me to the place that i seek

 

up above the sleeping giant, up above lake eerie

hoping that the waves will lead you all the way back to me

 

under every sky, i hope that i'll find you

there's no place for me but the place i had with you

 

all around the hills of israel, all around the holy land

i'll follow the old green lantern to a feather in the sand

 

under every sky, i hope that i'll find you

there's no place for me but the place i had with you

everywhere i fly, i hope that i'll find you

there's no place for me but the place i had with you

harry goes to war

in 1943, I was called to serve in the army at Camp Borden

we left Winnipeg with nothing on our backs, 'cept the prairie dust kicking up from the tracks

the night before, we all stood in line and poured our canteens on the ground

but two of us slipped out when the train fuelled up, and we shared a beer out of some measuring cups

 

at the summer's end, my friend Stan and I hitched a ride down to Windsor

met a kind young man and we sang German songs around the bonfire all night long

he told his folks that we were old school friends, then woke me up to ask my name

we returned to camp and stayed out of sight, then scaled the fence in the dead of night

 

sergeant got the word to close the prisoner camp and he burned all the instruments that they played

and the camp doctor had a dog called Fritz they made us shoot just outside the sticks

'cause he only answered to German calls - rest easy Fritz, you peaceful soul

some years after the war, I saw a prisoner's face; while bagging oranges at the marketplace

miracle island

a listing in the local classifieds told me where the miracles reside

with the miracle merchant in the arctic circle

for who i am searching traveling by sea turtle

 

a temple in the mist fades into view, my giant friend slides back into the blue

and through the doorway i go into a sea of pilgrims

praying to their idols to cure their endless symptoms

 

my number's up but i can hardly speak... sir what can you prescribe for this disease?

i've come from ontario to your holy island

to taste the miracle snow sold by your blessed hand

sadness in disguise

the painfullest of pains bring you to a new place, feel it to the bottom – no matter who has lost or won

the emptiness of loss vows to make up for the cost, believe or sink deeper – despite these hollow limbs

 

rest when the sun sets, rise when you want to, seasons change when you do

 

sadness in disguise is a sharp and cruel knife – perfectly built weapon without ever intending sin

when peace finally arrives, it will take you by surprise. give thanks to anguish for the ride

 

rest when the sun sets, rise when you want to, seasons change when you do

lanark county

on the outskirts of lanark county, out of the dirt arose a poisonous tree

that bent to the earth and formed a doorway to a house made of birch while the neighbours watched from their driveway

a curious glance out the window reveals a siege of herons draping the house like snow

carved into the wood of the house in lanark county is a sprawling scene of the lives that you could lead

paintlounge

let me eat the yellow paint to paint my temple like the sun would if it found my body to be a holy place

every tangled face escape from inexpressible anger, or overworked accountants if thats the case

 

unhold whats in your fist and make room for your bright eyes

theyve always seen everything through the fog

whatever is the gift, whatever card is inside

this magic is meant to be held in your palms

 

sir your canvas is in flames! how many years have you forgotten to let a little water through the gate?

lily has not come to paint. in days shes simply spoke to no one who didnt think her a waitress by mistake

 

unhold whats in your fist and make room for your bright eyes

theyve always seen everything through the fog

whatever is the gift, whatever card is inside

this magic is meant to be held in your palms

magic held in your palms

fire ecology

there once was a man, he had everything at his fingertips

goals of gold and grandeur left unplanned, but he said

“walk with me, take my hand i will show you how to live”

 

the sound of the wind carries tales of the heart and words of the kin

slow and gently, they wind and bend wrapping me up in the arms of a friend

they will tell me how to live without you

 

we’re all children caught mid-stride, there’s a fire in our eyes; and the lucky ones they get goodbyes

 

so i’ll reach for his hand and his fingertips will trace my plans

they’ll carve paths through the winds they’ll teach me how to begin

they will show me how to live without you

 

we’re all children caught mid-stride there’s a fire in our eyes and the lucky ones they get goodbyes

i’ve been caught, a child, mid-stride and the fire in dim but wide i’m a lucky one

cattails

your hands sweep across the meadows

i fall back into the lake

the cattails catch me like a warm bed

near you i see vision speak

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