1. |
Komm Nebel, Komm Nacht
03:56
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The mist rose so gently the waves
Never seemed to crash upon the pebble shore
And I was afraid to stand beside the water
As the stars and tide-pools sang with ripples
And I had so many doubts
As the night grew brittle I stepped out
In to the sound
As shadows sprouted out of every shoal
The moon set wandering souls apart
From those seeking to sink and drown
Oh Lorelei, was I among them?
Or was it fear I overcame?
As the shroud of mist sank
Kelp clung to my ankle
As I struggled to the heart of the waves
My thighs were soaking wet
The sky was cavernous and yawning
Into nothing, how I wanted to be there
Amongst the nebulae and black
I found some peace in the stillness
And left my breath with the mist
Was there some line I crossed that night,
Within the sea or in my own heart?
Sometimes I wish I’d succumbed to the brine
For I’m drowning now in arid life
If I’d been brave I would have stayed there
But instead I’d hoped to imbibe more of life
The mist and waves are now my everyday
And I struggle as I can back to shore
But I can’t do this
Great whites are circling
But I can’t do this
The night is darker than the day is bright
And I am so afraid
That I can’t do this
Alone
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2. |
Aestate
03:40
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Too late I came to the cave
Where I wanted to roam in August, but
The stale, and stunted august stalagmites
Stood there blocking my way to nitid veins
Of colored quartz
Pacing at Hell's maw I tried plaintively
To call you back to me
Threading my threnody through
Statues carved by time
One was an egg covered in moss, cracking, or hatching
Could I be so lucky someday
To shed my shell, and become
Something that's precious to someone
But I have no chrysilis
From which I might emerge a new
And I am no Orpheus
But still I'll sing for you
So come ye now this day assemble
Hang your burdens by the pines
And amidst laughter sing like sparrows
In the fires of July
Come ye now ye lonesome lovers
As ye beggars all call for alms
May this cave mouth be the shelter
Where we warm ourselves with song
As night grows long
Fireflies swim along the belt of Orion
And I thrive in thoughtless repose
Junebugs and moonshine hang in the air
Half asleep I dream of finding home
Or something close
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3. |
Rapture
04:09
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Drain the ink from the basin
Spread sand on the words so they’ll dry
The news will come with morning
The letter reads ‘your child has died’
And we weep for what never was
Plant the bones and hope the house won’t collapse
I tried my hardest to reach you
But the fissures grew too fast
The nights were annulled by our silence
We forgot how to smell, and to scratch
The barren fields stretch onwards towards the afterlife and still
We cling to our piles of ash
How we clashed through those bitter days
The hearth and the forge tilled their flames
The embers remember, but thy never speak of love
As we draw back our linens the same
And on through another year
Another sodden decade dragged by
Although we clung to the clothes of our past
Time went on advancing beyond our grasp
Yet I still cherish you
Though we’ve turned to stone
The lilac tree may bloom again someday
If we should give it room to grow
Your touch is the succor I long for
As coins gleam on your eyes and your tongue
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4. |
For Li Bai
03:30
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A moth took its flame
Over wilting walls, and lanterns spilt of spoils
Its wings were faberge, and roiling
As it looked down from above
And knew itself by its wanting
Finstre schwarze Riesenfalter
Who better to inherit the moon
Her silver silhouette reflected by
The black surface of a pond
It set itself on a reed
Gazing at the mizuous mirror
And drunk on the soft wine
Of unrequited tears
It sighed with the wind
Preparing to dive in
If only once to touch her face
She raised a murky smile
For sought she too its embrace
Though craterless shone her countenance
Her true face was miles away
How it craved to embrace the soul
It thought that it saw smiling there
As it cut its cord from blue September's air
Luna chided the lust struck moth
Thou knowest not what fate thou facest
To join me thou must climb the stars
We'll perhaps embrace at heaven's gate
Did you know joy, oh moth
While reaching for the moon
Sinking were you raised up
Or was your flame extinguished
By lust
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5. |
Perhaps
04:50
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The tall grass pulled us onwards
Rowing across the moonlight
And gilded with silver and brass
It asked me how we fared
As drifting blades of
Grain and glass
How did we fare indeed
I could never answer
My lips felt sore and succored shut
My dreams were never seen,
Not for premonitions
Only for moments of hope
That I could never cling to
And hang up
At the end of the day
Tell me it’ll matter when it’s over
When the wind’s passed us by
Will I find some shred of light tucked away
In the left hand pocket of some forgotten coat
That I wore years ago
Perhaps
Her touch was warm yet wary
Shuddering through the maudlin dusk
And all that we had were whispers and icicles
Take me back to the pond
Where everything was covered with moss
And lily-pads
I wish I could have kissed you
Though in my sleep I have
But those images are fleeting at best
As tourniquets of smoke
Choke the hours awake
Making them bearable
Until
At the end of my days
Tell me that I’ll matter when it’s over
With the years long vorbei
Will I find some shred of light tucked away
In the left hand pocket of some forgotten coat
That I wore years ago
Perhaps
I wish I weren’t dreaming
Perhaps then I could hold
The scenes I wanted to see birthed
But everything is still born
And everything is ash
At the end of the day perhaps
I’ll collapse
At last
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