Lyrics
‘Pine Sitcks and Phosphorus’
1. On This Day
I like you better this way
Far from the water frozen still
You are so fortunate to
Have a place here
By Shakespeare under the elm tree
Don’t you agree?
Their dark and tangled branches
Still fight to touch the fiery sun
As you stand here
The captain with capstan and flag
That you held when it all came undone
I bet you’re ready
To get free to the ocean
Steal a ship
And conquer around
But there’s no gold left
And everyone’s taken
So stand in the shade
And we’ll make the best of it
On this day
3. Hunting Song
You are the one
That crept in like the dawn
Burning the broken strings
Lighting new trajectories
Plucked from the fabric frayed
These ends of yesterday
The hunter knows only the prey
And with your lines still ringing in my ears
We all were gathered here
To meet the day with sword and spear
Looking to bag the prize
Behind the new disguise
Some days it’s best to stay inside
Atop your thready tree
You starve and sing
Distant and wild-eyed
You unraveled in the sky
Drunk off the fallen rain
Ready for anything
You have the better wiring
4. Middle of Nowhere
The blackened points
They draw us nearer
Still I’ve never felt this far away
I’m looking in a broken mirror
From the sheltered sway between the cars
Vestibuled dream spinning somewhere out in the
Middle of nowhere
The Winter still winning
Take a breath and pull it all back in
Here on a pointed line a blur out in the pines
The slow to stop
The station buzzes
Everything at your soft fingertips
And we are ready for the running
Through the clouded blast of rocket ships
The jetties and branches
The tunnels filling up the empty space
I shake off the lions and fall in place
Collect my things
And speed on home to
Mist the plants and chase the cats
5. Behind a Green Rosette
The weight of oceans
Against your body bending
The calm you felt
You’re not yourself
Reach, reaching out for anything
Blue-faced in the humming lights
And no you’re not the only one
Cut from the cord
Standing alone beside you
I count your steps
Those honeyed cells and boxes
They all get left
And so we’re taking everything we can
Red-faced in the burning sun
And no we’re not the only ones
Cut from our cords
6. Lock the Door
Clinging to a wire
Underwater
Fix you cages
Fire your belly hot, go on
You won’t find me in your pot
I am out to drink down the last drop
Go and draw the bath
So that I can jump inside
Fill my every pore
Run on home now and
Lock the door
Some drowned on dry land
Others walked the ocean floor
I’ll come back and sing
I will tell you everything
8. A Paper Figurine
The cross and cut of quiet lines
Are falling into place
They take over your everything
Like they take the page
These thin black wires like skeletons
That left their flesh behind
Are the ones you tucked away
And carried all this time
And when the day comes
We can see everything
Up on the rooftop
A paper figurine pushes back
It seemed to rain for days that night
He caught you on the ledge
Your wings were wet, to wet to fly
In your summer dress
And when the day comes
We can see everything
Up on the rooftop
A paper figurine pushes back the wind
9. Fireflies
Pine sticks and phosphorus
Held in your hand
This winter wind was on your side
The burning sent its spark
Straight through your spine
At three a.m.
The world was right
Holding your breath
You followed
Circling around
Your thin white bones
Fireflies and galaxies
You took a few of them
In your mouth
And for a moment you could shine
And run home to show them
Your tongue
10. Open Your Eyes / Escape from Burning Trees
Open your eyes
A black shell burned to ashes
Out on a cable quaking
You start to rise
Glistening wake
A clean escape
I traced the line
Your window to the ocean
Fast motion woven walls break
And dissipate
Go on outside
A glassy July
Go on outside
Silk thread, new sky
Out far from the
Soft familiar shapes
Left open
Gossamer rooms
Have set us free
From burning trees
Out on a switch
Climbing the thickets, scheming
Branches trembled
Beneath our feet
We shook the limbs and took the leaves
We shook the limbs and ate the leaves
11. We Closed Our Eyes
We gathered up the sun-smoke
Seeds in our hands
And threw them to the desert sand
And when we saw the gray clouds
Consume the sky
The spectacle we closed our eyes
We broke the blocks right open
A brilliant light
Who knows we just might all survive