There once was a day
when all we could speak was the truth.
We’d whistle
with various hormonal tones,
but we could all hum the tune.
Now it seems as though
we've run out of words to sing to;
we sang them so clearly,
they were not our own.
Yet I held them so close to my heart
that they broke right through the breastbone.
"You may as well fillet my chest open,"
I said, "I will still stand,
naked and alone,
left with a false sense of gratitude
somehow owed to you.
And I've paid my dues,
but it would be my simple pleasure
if you could just sit down for tea.
Well, I brewed just enough for me,
but I don’t mind so much to be sharing
with someone so pretty.
So pretty...
this God Damn early in the morning.
Your eyes may be puffy and red,
but there’s not a single thing that could prevent them from glowing;
from showing me speckles of sunlight through freckles,
by sewing your shackles deep into the marrow of your ankles;
to tangle yourself in your very own burdens
and carry them proudly,
and wear them so loudly
that the birds can be heard
sad-singing your song,
long after your soul has moved on.
And it’s gone.
It moves like a mortar platoon
of electrically-charged,
blue-blooded balloons
clutching a kite-string
on a windy afternoon.
And soon
you’ll reach the sunset and turn around,
about-faced,
retracing your footsteps with relentless persistence
until it dawns on you,
and you’ll realize that you are beaming,
gaze-fixed,
staring straight into the star-struck eyes
of yet another glorious sunrise.
Good Morning."
“Good morning,” she’ll say
credits
from The World Is Your Pearl,
released September 27, 2013
Brandon "B" Barker: Vocals, Guitar
Lauren Begent: Violin, Vocals