Sharper

SHARPER (D G D G B E)

Everything just that little bit sharper. I can feel it through my bones. I know it.

Everything a bit clearer. Fish and dolphins in the water. Sun brighter, wind a bit stronger. But not too strong.

I remember when I didn’t even realise I was getting round with filters over both eyes.

 

And I didn’t even know it until I’d already let go of it. But something must have made me do it.

No one thought it was that bad because it was only bad for me. I wonder how much worse it is for everybody else.

And I know that I am always on a journey. But it feels nice sometimes to know that things are working.

Safety net

SAFETY NET (E A D G B E)

Focus. I’ll try to go with you.

Don’t you know I am right behind you?

Hold your serve. They broke my nerve.

Don’t forget your safety net.

 

I know you’re hot, I am too.

I know just what we should do.

Find me there. Let me go.

We don’t need their safety.

Aubergine pt two

AUBERGINE PT TWO (E A D G B E)

We waited so long. Thought it must be a sign.

Picking the fruit from the tree, holding our dear aubergine. And inside, the meal was prepped.

 

You couldn’t help yourself. Just had to take a bite.

Coughing and spitting into the sink, I couldn’t believe what I saw. It appears our dear aubergine was rotten to the core.

 

I googled eggplant poisoning but was pretty sure you’d be fine.

And now in the garden there sits four or five waiting to be picked. But neither of us have the nerve.

Morning fades

MORNING FADES (D G D G B E, capo 1)

Morning fades through skies so blue, both carried through the night. You’ve been gone, I don’t know where. There’s sand under the bed.

In your hair I have found things that we don’t talk about. I don’t need to know.

 

Morning fades; the light draws in through cracks between ourselves. You are glowing. You don’t even know it. But I do.

I just only found out that gum trees and eucalyptus are basically the same. It’s something we don’t talk about.

 

Out the window I see magpies singing their songs in the trees. They sound much better than me.

Swept away

SWEPT AWAY (E A D G B E)

Green. The first to lift their head. I am yet to rise.

Swim. The currents pull us out. We don’t need to steer.

 

Who are the ones who know?

Where did our dreams go?

 

Gone. The first to take a step. Light is filling in.

It’s cool, but soon the dirt will melt. We are swept away.

Unfurl - Yev Kassem

 

 

Written and recorded throughout a 12 day covid-induced isolation.

Mastered by Ron Finemore.

 

A hand unfurls. Fingers spread wide like wings.

Catch the sun. It has taught us everything.
Swept away. It’s so easy it can’t be good.
In the shade. Never thought you really would.
And it’s spinning.
Will it come down?
Feel them breathing out.

On the beach, a dog walks off on its back two legs. Into the trees, never to be seen again.
I can’t find any reason to tell them why. I don’t need them to know a thing about me.
I can taste it.
It’s not so far as I was led to believe.

On the beach, a figure I had long forgot. Coming for me. I am glued right where I stand.
Wrap me up. I will sit here in your palm.
Throw me out. As far as you can is not far enough.
In the ocean, I am alone. Spread my fingers like wings.

When the sun starts falling. When the wind blows away. When the water turns dark blue.
When the moon bathes the evening. When the stars freckle the sky. When the waves lunge and seize.

Now I know you are listening. You are not so far away. Even when I forget it.
On the bottom of the ocean, I will crawl on hands and knees. Follow the foam along the surface.

Now I know you are watching from a cloud above the sea. If I get warmer will you tell me?

Good morning

GOOD MORNING (E A D G B E, capo 1)

Good morning, now what is it? I heard you cry all night.

I guess we got what we asked for. But no one asked for us.

Good morning, where have you been? There’re secrets in your eyes.

I watched the bedroom spinning and filling the holes we dug.

 

At half past five, I saw you go under the bed.

 

Hang on, I can’t remember; have you been fed today?

I thought I heard a whisper. I thought we were alone.

Hang on, who killed this cockroach? And left it on the kitchen floor?

It’s missing one or two legs. It wasn’t here last night.

 

The wind is strong but we’re not scared. The sun is warm enough.

 

Footsteps creak down the hallway. Shadows move in the dark.

Questions answer themselves and dreams rest, nestled in the cracks.

 

Turn off the light because I’m not scared. I’ll see you in the morning.

Down here

DOWN HERE (E A D F# B E, capo 2)

Down here, they say the same things, they want safety. They want to float along.

Down here, I am the air king, I am rising. I’m just hanging on.

 

Hot wind over the back fence, under the pretence of everything you love.

Blown out, it’s not a bad day. It’s just the wrong way and we are all exposed.

 

Spinning and tumbling, crashing and sparks flying. Darkness is spying on us.

 

Don’t move, don’t even think it. Don’t even believe that anything will change.

No proof. Don’t even need it. I’m not an idiot, at least, not today.

 

I see the trees warble; we are both in trouble. We are both in trouble.

 

Down here, I am the air king.

Breath out, I feel you pushing.

Breath out, I am rising.

Down here, I am nothing.

Air king

AIR KING (E A D F# B E)

 

Now that the test is over, everything really begins. Traffic is eerily quiet, but days like today always are.

Clouds are falling around us. It’s grey but my eyes still hurt. Draw the curtains until the wind turns.

 

Hold your breath, I’m sinking. Meet me on the seabed.

 

Now that the summer is over we can all come back to life. I was unwell for a moment. Now I think I’ll be alright.

She asked me if I remember. I said: I’m not sure what you mean. It takes me a while just to notice.

 

Down here, light hardly touches. We don’t need to look any further.

 

Up there, you are fading. I don’t want to drag you down.

I don’t know what’s better. But I know I would be.

 

I am the air king, it’s on my name tag.

I am a deadweight, I am a sand bag.

I am the air king, you should know that.

I am beyond hope, you should know that.

I saw a light past the continental shelf. 

I rode my bike down the continental slope. 

I walked alone on the abyssal plane. 

This is my throne on the seabed.

I am a deadweight, I am a sand bag.

I am the air king, it’s on my name tag.

Bright idea

BRIGHT IDEA (E A D G B E)

 

We took a holiday. Packed the car and headed north. Didn’t get that far away; up ahead it began to storm.

Rain and hail. Wind that tears the sun from the sky. Turn around. I am not too proud to say I’ve been wrong.

 

Unloaded everything with the car safe in the driveway. We covered our heads to dart inside, just as the clouds began to melt away.

Warmth and light flickers on the buffalo grass. Just our luck. I am not too proud to say I’ve been wrong.

 

I pulled out the swag one last time. Thought I had a bright idea. And in the middle of our backyard, set up all of the camping gear.

The sun went down. Fell asleep around the campfire. In the middle of the night, embers escaped the pit and set our little house alight.

Unfurl

UNFURL (E A D F# A E)

A hand unfurls. Fingers spread wide like wings.

Catch the sun. It has taught us everything.

Swept away. It’s so easy it can’t be good.

In the shade. Never thought you really would.

And it’s spinning.

Will it come down?

Feel them breathing out.

 

On the beach, a dog walks off on its back two legs. Into the trees, never to be seen again.

I can’t find any reason to tell them why. I don’t need them to know a thing about me.

I can taste it.

It’s not so far as I was led to believe.

 

On the beach, a figure I had long forgot coming for me. I am glued to where I stand.

Wrap me up. I will sit here in your palm.

Throw me out. As far as you can is not far enough.

In the ocean, I am alone. Spread my fingers like wings.

 

When the sun starts falling. When the wind blows away. When the water turns dark blue.

When the moon bathes the evening. When the stars freckle the sky. When the waves lunge and seize.

 

Now I know you are listening. You are not so far away. Even when I forget it.

On the bottom of the ocean, I will crawl on hands and knees. Follow the bubbles along the surface.

 

Now I know you are watching from a cloud above the sea. If I get warmer will you tell me?

When it ends

WHEN IT ENDS (E A D F# A E, capo 2)

When it ends we can start again. When it ends what will there be?

When the day is through. It’s not really up to you. But everything goes away somehow.

 

When it ends we can make our beds. Wash the sheets today – it’s sunny and windy and I don’t think it’ll rain. At least that’s what my phone says.

 

And now the test is over we can really begin. And what a way to begin!

 

When it ends I’ll be waiting in the shadows. I’ll be standing in the water. I’ll be stretching my wings. I’ll be running faster than the tide.

Taking my shoes after seven days and nights.

 

When it ends we will clear our throats.

Old path white clouds #7

Old path white clouds #7 recorded Sunday 9 Jan 2022 by Romy and Noah. Tracked separately while in isolation. 

HB Romy. 

 

Inflatable pool

INFLATABLE POOL (D A D G A E, capo 3)

You could have floated away and I wouldn’t know what to do. Into the clouds, say goodbye. Hope you come down before the sun. I hold out my arms.

 

You could have caught yourself a cold. Up in the air with no coat. I only went inside for a minute. Didn’t think I had to ask you not to leave. So, come home soon, please.

 

You could have landed anywhere. But fell straight back down in the yard. Its lucky we’ve got the inflatable pool. It was never not going to catch you. And I had the towel.

What did I say?

WHAT DID I SAY? (D A D G A E, capo 3)  

 

What did I say? I’m not trying to make a point; I really can’t remember.

Where did you go? I just thought of the funniest joke but didn’t have anyone to tell it to.

Now I can’t remember. Maybe it wasn’t even that clever, but I sat laughing on the lounge for like half an hour.

And I thought how you’re the only one who would’ve thought it was as funny as I did.

A good day for tea

A GOOD DAY FOR TEA (E A D G B D, capo 2)

Blowing gently. Falling softly. The grass is green and damp.

Magpies set free. It’s a good day for tea. This is where the world starts and ends. We don’t need to do a thing.

 

Multiplying. Air upon air. Wind blows from the sea.

Thoughts move slowly. We can catch them. Follow ones that call after you. The others are of no use.

 

Waves like houses. Sailing through the ocean. We’ve been lost for years.

In the moonlight the sea glows so bright. How could we not know that we’ve got everything we need?

There was a rain

THERE WAS A RAIN (D A D G A E, capo 1)

There was a rain that fell, it didn’t stay for long. I felt the wind propel and push me to the sea.

There was a wave that broke, it spat into the air. I could’ve sworn it spoke to me.

 

There was a crow who cried and flew into the trees. I waved my arms and tried to follow it back home.

There was a sun, at least, I think that’s what it was. I felt it looking at me.

WWTWD

WWTWD (D A D G A E, capo 3)

I didn’t see a thing. I just heard the rain pissing down. I went straight back to bed. Didn’t have anywhere to be, anyway.

I think the heat is getting to us. Those afternoon blues are creeping in. I’d be worried we were losing the plot if I wasn’t sure we’d already lost it.

Couldn’t be tighter and we couldn’t be torn. Fit for a king, is it fit for a pawn?

 

These things are delicate matters. These things seem to fall into patterns. These things follow everywhere we go. These are things we should not know.

I want to know, what would Tim Winton do? Somehow, I think it’d make me feel better. He comes across so sure and knowing. I come across whichever way the wind is blowing.

Couldn’t be sweeter if I were a bee. Couldn’t be more lost if we swam out to sea.

 

Sat around all day just to go back to sleep. Hide in the shade among the dirt and the leaves. Holding to something you found in a dream. Knowing it’s there even though no one else sees.

Softness

SOFTNESS (E A C# F# B E, capo 1) 

Softness like streams running downhill. I felt the street topple and spill.

Softness falls dense like afternoon rain on a 35-plus degree day.

I saw a bird I’d never seen, its shadow marching up the beach.

 

Softness like waking with the sun. No garbage trucks or terse alarms.

Brushing your teeth without the light. Out on the street it’s Oh, So, Quiet.

I felt a hand I’d never touched. It pointed to the clouds above.

 

Softness like knowing where you are. Arriving after hours in the car.

Stretching your legs, eating good food. Something is looking out for you.

I found a road I’d never been down. I watched the horizon turn inside out.