my boyhood passed
in a taciturn eternity
all those years waiting
for the quiet man to speak
knocked off my feet
faithful to a fault
his heart and mine
locked in the same vault
and it was no different
when he spoke in tongues
though they said back then
that God would fill the gaps
I started to doubt it
when every time
he just opened his mouth
and out came the same lines
um-shudda-ma-kee-de-a
I still hear it in my head
an exchange for all that's left unsaid
I would've rather traded that Holy Spirit
for the ghost of a heart that let me near it
but the holes are where
the hope gets through
at the bottom of a bottomless well
the speechless fathers
speak for you
~ ~ ~
April 22, 2024
Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia
facebook | instagram | tumblr | youtube | etsy
You can support my work
get things in the mail
and see everything
first on Patreon
Tags: a boy at his volcano day 6007
© All Rights Reserved
These clear spring nights come on so cold, all the bitterness of winter in tow. Absolute calm takes off the edge a little, and the heat in the earth from a long and sunny day. It radiates upward as the frigid moon shines down. Those reflected rays disappear through the brush and treetops, absorbed by a mass of wild roses. But timeless vinyl siding carries on the mirroring a little longer. The home itself is basically hopeless. Abandoned so many decades that the floors have caved through, slowly turned to a hollow hulk, in search of the bottom falling out. Like a beautiful soul with dementia, frame for a missing picture; who are we without our memories, anyway? The world carries off an almost unrecognizable beauty after nightfall, but few folks see it. Our eyes tuned to headlights and home, we watch the sky but miss its impact on the earth. For that, you've got to stand in the darkness and wait to see the light.
April 22, 2024
Lake Midway, Nova Scotia
facebook | instagram | tumblr | youtube | etsy
You can support my work
get things in the mail
and see everything
first on Patreon
© All Rights Reserved
As far as I'm concerned, darkness always brings its own brightness – like the sun and the shadow it casts. It's all right there in the obvious honesty, like with tragic dramas or blues songs. When I was younger, I was immersed in a religious culture that couldn't resist a happy ending, obsessed with all things working together for good. It felt like such a revelation when I discovered storytelling for the sake of the story alone. One of the great philosophical questions seems to be: "Why do bad things happen to good people?" I'm more of the mindset that it's best to remove the words "why", "bad", and "good" from the equation – and you're nearly to the statement: "Things happen to people." I'm less concerned with cause and effect than I am with my reaction to it. I choose hope, because that ensures I'm aiming for something better. I choose wonder, because I'm better off chasing uncertainty. But, most of all, I choose honesty. I've got nothing invested in pretending my heart is anywhere it's not.
April 21, 2024
Forest Glade, Nova Scotia
facebook | instagram | tumblr | youtube | etsy
You can support my work
get things in the mail
and see everything
first on Patreon
Tags: a boy at his volcano day 6006
© All Rights Reserved