WORD UP

i just remembered but i forgot not to think about it
that this song reminds me of another time
when the trees were tall and the ocean was in the air
on an island off the coast in the spring
where people dress in public and smile in private

oh why did i leave but never arrive
in the nest of dreams and love these wings
i fell and never quit falling
and where am i

on the lids of inward eyes
in the cell of the brain
an empty vessel in space
lonely
drifting
trapped in the outer orbit of a chronic habit
of never speaking and always listening to silence
never learning
always hurting
more than a pin prick

the pin drops
and all is still
and here i am
again
washed up on shore
and the tide
is receding
and the day is new
and the sand moves
up wind
drifting
settling
and here i am
again
back at the mouth of the bay
above sea level
learning to fly
like penguins do
underwater
emperors of the sea
all hail flightless birds

long live the kings of freedom
and the queens of laughter
and the jokers who cry
for soon their day will come
and to you fair lady
who never needs rescuing
you could never save me
for i am no knight
i am the day
before and after noon
the rise and set of sunlight
and mere reflection upon your moon
waxing and waning
for the second time in june
but never the new

i know this orbit
the great fall of the tide
the sudden darkness
of this deserted island
beyond the reach of penguins
and the merry men
of my kingdom



written in the dark by Ian Johnson