Remember when apologies were anomalies?
We danced straight through cacophony
To anthems tuned to Sophocles
In a winter clothed in red
Some cheap gin and a sunset
On a loveseat where your cold breath
Mixed sunbeams, sighing softly
"Darling, please no more regrets."
An empire on a hillside
Steeped heartstrings like a swingset
In a lost dream where we cheat death
And our bodies never slow
Fingertips like bent wings
Fill the cracks of new hide
Stitching flame to bleak skin
Together like a thread
And maybe, baby
I was the one who was wrong
To shape my palms just like a picture
Frame around you like a song
Your tires, still, moon-sought
In the back corner of that hid space
By your apartment
Your freckles caught dancing, dazzling
Who do you remind me of?
Of Joyous Strength?
Of Fearless Love?
Shoulders arching back as doves,
Of ink! Of half-lit blots!
The cadence of your bright eyes,
Fixed, infinitesimal, slides
Playing back, cascading back,
To ever stall the fade to black,
Stitching time to space in cracks,
Beseeching us the sight we lack,
Wondrously, patiently until they disappear!
And maybe, baby
I was the one you adored
Stab, strangle, and pull my heart out
Throw it off,
We'll keep together
Stab, strangle, and pull my heart out
Throw it off,
To keep you close
The Alabama singer-songwriter may have turned in his guitars for synths and drum machines, but his music is no less personal or incisive. Bandcamp New & Notable May 28, 2019
Stark, folk-derived songs built on brittle acoustic guitars that conjure the image of a fire burning in the distance on a dark night. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 8, 2022