The blackbird looks for treasures

To line her winter nest

The season in the north is long

And shallow in its rest

For those who are the seers

The blackbird gives them sight

That which has been cast to earth

She brings back to the sky

The sky comes down in wintertime

And rests upon the river

It sings the tired land to sleep

And wakes the blackbird's vision

She rises from the wishing well

Unearthing golden treasures

Long lost dreams and golden threads

The rarest sunken relics

The sun has caught a shiny thing

The blackbird, she is falling

Her feathers catch the spider's web

Into earth, she's tumbling

I heard a song from long ago

One night when I was dreaming

The blackbird trapped inside the well

Had brought to me a vision

The sun had dropped

The moth was caught

The spider's web was shimmering

That which comes her way this night

Shall stay with her 'til morning

She comes into my dreams at night

From underground, she's calling

To let her heart grow brave again

She practices her falling

She likes to brush with darkness

To let her heart grow strong

She takes the thread from underground

And ties it to the sun

I see her in the white birch tree

She waits there for the dawn

That which has been cast to earth

She brings back to the sun.

They set out west to find her

With horses and with dogs

The night, they pierced, with torches

Through hills of choking fog

She hoped they would not find her

And alone, she would be free

To wander with the other ghosts

To fade away in peace

In her hands, she cupped her sorrow

And with water, she divined

That she was not of flesh and bone

But of weather, stark and wild

She threaded golden thimbles

That the Fates had so designed

She kept and spun the heavy thread

Spooling golden twine

She clutched the seeds of apple trees

In orchards fell by vines

Her figs and golden apple groves

The wards of blighted time

The thorny branches caught her skin

And snagged her golden hair

Gray fog choked the rocky barrens

And fate hung in the air

Before the fog that took the east

The world was open air

Her worries skipped across the sea

The poison bled out clear

Before the vines that choked the trees

The world was open ground

She danced upon the open moors

The starlight lit her crown

She keeps now to the waylands

The place that sits between

Her golden twine, so loosely tied

To the land of fog and weeds

In the twisted hills of karstic earth

Clear water flows beneath

Heaven above, and hell below

In flesh and bone, they meet

In her hands, she holds the water

And from it, she divines

She is not of earth and blood

But of weather, stark and wild.

Some say that it is sleeping

But the land here is awake

In the flowering vines that climb the trees

And the rings that faeries make

Sap moves in the sugar trees

Blue iris paint the lake

The heart renews its vision

When the hillside comes awake

The wisdom of the wild place

Restores our second sight

In the darkest groves of hemlock

I have seen the bristling light

In the deepest part of winter

When the ice holds still the lake

Our hearts, they guard the vision

Of the land when it awakes

Should the faeries trick you

And your berries fall to blight

What winter winds may wither

The sun restores to life

We mourn our stolen vision

When the flowers fall to frost

In the deepest part of winter

When the light is nearly lost

Boughs and branches quake and bend

Before the winter thaw

The redwinged blackbirds sing again

In the wild fens and bogs

The earth gives rise in ebbs and sighs

In yellows and in greens

New daffodils have sprung to life

Beneath the sugar trees

The forest floor is rising

Ferns fumble toward the sun

The hermit thrush is back again

She sings her ancient song

The melting snow, it sinks below

To meet the rushing stream

The treefogs and the summer toads

Awaken from their sleep

The wisdom of the wild place

Restores our second sight

In the darkest groves of hemlock

I have seen the bristling light.

On the eve of another setting sun

I see the road that's dark

Fire sweeps through ochre leaves

And ignites the sacred heart

The trees reach up to heaven

Toward a brilliant burning sun

They came to life in darkness

Where roots and rivers run

Cathedraled canopies hold the heat

Of a thousand setting suns

Infinites exist between the leaves

In silk that's spider-spun

Another sun has risen

Another road falls dark

I wander in the waylands

Where paths of travelers cross

I forge a heart of iron

For the road ahead that's dark

My hands are steady in the fire

That lights the sacred heart

My people come from islands

Green lands of stone and sod

Our bloodline holds the weather

The rains, the wind, the flood

We move inside the weather

Sunblind and thunderstruck

Our blood moves ever-westward

Where the gold road opens up

Where gray stone drops to deep blue sea

And the world is open sky

The road will meet our weary feet

And match our traveler's stride

My heart beats ever-steady

To meet the road ahead

I'm the last of the travelers of the iron clan

Who walk along the edge

We are forgers of the sacred fire

That lights the path ahead

A well-worn path to other worlds

That those before us tread

A fire burns within my heart

Far older than my years

I'm the forger of the sacred heart

The blood of iron's will.

Oh mother

Can you take

My worries from me

And tie them like ornaments

To the sycamore trees

We'll weave golden garlands

For our heads to be crowned

They'll protect us in darkness

When the winter comes down

Oh mother

Can you fill

My body with light

And crown me with candles

When the world turns to night

We'll build crowns of fire

And project our own light

In the old hemlock grove

Where the shadows reside

Oh mother

Please grant me

The gift of sight

When the sun returns

I'll know well, the night

We'll burn green boughs

From the evergreen trees

There's a sacred protection

In the resin they bleed

Oh mother

Protect me

With the light of the sun

On the longest of nights

When the winter has come.

Listen now, my child

I will tell you where I'm from

A place of shifting shelter

Where to live you must hold on

Black night breaths inside the womb

That births the golden dawn

Earth gives way beneath the feet

And to live you must hold on

The seaside strums a lullaby

That only brave hearts hear

The sound of storms descending

Grows deep within the ear

Where the firmament is orange

And the ocean, emerald green

Where every storm must be outrun

And the sun is seldom seen

The sky, it cries, like banshees howl

And the coast has sharpened horns

If ever you are stranded there

Remember to hold on

This place, my son, has sharpened teeth

Take care not to get caught

Far-off storms will find you there

Pinned up against the rocks

Should you fight the current

My son, you will be drowned

The ocean is a wild thing

Untamed and unbound

Your worries draw the angry sky

In the place where I am from

My dear, you mustn't let it hear

Or soon you will be found

By the time you hear the thunder

The birds will all be gone

The petrel and the albatross

Fly out before the storm

When pirates robbed the ancient hull

They called upon the storm

Billowing and echoing

The thunder clouds were born

Such cargo is the devil's own

A ship destined to wreck

Son, you mustn't use such gold

To pay your earthly debts

Don't get lost in worry

For you are not like me

You are from a different place

Where hope survives the sea

Where the firmament is orange

And the ocean, emerald green

You are from a different place

Where hope survives the sea.

I wear the crown of a dying king

Long gutted by the storm

My crown weighs heavy

Where all land ends

I am headed for the north

It pulls me from a distance

Like the waves that rush the shore

I sink in the sand

In the cold north wind

The waves are breaking tall

I am king of the water

I reign over the storm

In my bloodline, I carry

What is yet to be born

My head contains oceans

My heart holds the rain

Where water runs clear

The sky speaks my name

Through gray winds, wailing

I hear the siren song

Standing tall, I carry

The weight of the storm

I am descended from embers

That burn in the blood

I command the north waters

Of the life-giving flood

Where the water runs clear

And the sun's colors dance

The sorrows I've held

Will run through my hands

I will keep walking forward

Though the embers grow small

Against the north wind

I will hold myself tall.

I am a dirt farmer

I farm the dirt

I eat all my earthworms

Straight out of the earth

I hold down a living

Pulled from the sky

I see it all coming

With my all-seeing eye

I am a dirt farmer

I sing with the rain

It gets rid of the mud

That resides in the brain

I don't worry my sorrows

Wherever they bloom

I've got things to plant

And I need the room

I am a dirt farmer

I work with the land

I live or I die

By the strength of my hands

My house, it grows mold

My car, it grows rust

When God turns his back

It's in dirt that I trust

When I die, carve my name

Into God's green earth

Let the dirt take me

And turn me to dust.

There's an old stone bridge

That I have crossed

It finds my feet when I am lost

It leads me to familar ghosts

Where heaven and earth collide

It does not seem so long ago

That my path, with yours, did cross

The autumn rushes by us now

The ferns are brushed with frost

It once was mine

I captured time

The light, in my image, danced

With rushing devotion, I came to life

In the earth, my roots were tapped

But now a silence softly grows

And ivy chokes the apple groves

I imagine only heaven knows

How quickly time does pass

With cheerful birds, returns the spring

The old stone bridge is green again

It's come time I should cross again

My feet are worn with miles

For all the miles I have tread

And all my comrades, come and went

Our paths are sure to cross again

For I've walked it by your side

To all of my familiar ghosts

And all the ones I've loved the most

Where new life springs from cold gray stone

I'll return once more to life.

I used to hold power

In the arms of your water

Never drifting too far

I held up the center

But now my mind wanders

Far away from the middle

The past, I grip tight

As I hold back the future

You dragged me out

Far away from dry land

From the dream of a life

The slow drowning dance

When I asked you for air

Your waves just grew taller

You had answered my prayer

I was the fear caller

Now I walk freely

Through thorns and through nettle

They sting at my feet

As I hold up the center

I drink up the air

The sky cloaked in blue

For fear has no power

When it cannot consume.

I dreamt of the earth god

How he came to be

He swallowed the pit

From the devil's tree

Tannined and bitter

Dark and withered

His veins turned to roots

That bloodlet the rivers

I dreamt of the drowning god

How he came to be

He swallowed the earth

Away from the tree

The seven seas rose

Collecting lost souls

In the roar of the waves

Their stories are told

I dreamt of the drinking god

How he came to be

He bled the red wine

From the vines of the tree

Ecstatically dancing

He tempted the fates

Reverie was the song

Of the poison he drank

I dreamt of the sun god

How he came to be

Melting time into resin

That bled from the tree

Ambered and layered

Fractured and fated

Eternities captured

In the sun's glowing heat.

Your sorrow, it sings

Like a dove at last light

The sad, lonesome truth

In the absence of light

I love you like madness

My heart, wrapped in gold

I'll carry your sadness

Our love won't grow old

So hand me your sorrow

I'll let it grow wings

It will fly on forever

I won't let it sing

Though the thorns, they blind me

This weight, I can bare

For you, my sweet love

This crown, I will wear

We'll burn down the bridges

We'll witness the light

We'll find peace again

Our hearts intertwined

We will let the tide take us

We will let the waves come

We will bath in the rays

Of the exploding sun.

I see the earth

Where heavens falls

So silvery and white

I see the earth

Where heaven falls

It paints the midnight sky

I see the earth

Where heaven falls

It pulls me close, tonight.

I used to draw on my hands

You noticed it

We were in your white Dodge Shadow with the "Pave the Rainforest" bumper sticker on it

It was October

Clinton was president

We were parked outside of Hoyt's Cinema in Manahawkin, New Jersey

You drove me home

It was the first time you held my hand

Each day we spent together

Until I went to Belize, to the jungle

My father drove us to the airport in Philly in their red Hyundai Santa Fe

We were still kids then

It was 3 o'clock in the morning

You were still drunk in the back seat

It was May

Bush was president

The Iraq war was raging

I was having a bad reaction to the antimalarial

My guts churned

I fought with my head

I kissed you goodbye

I told you I loved you

Each day we spent together

Until you went to Uganda, to the jungle

You drove yourself to the airport in Hartford in our gray Toyota Rav4

I was sick

It was nothing new

I stayed with my parents in New Jersey

I sat on the beach

It was November

Trump was president

I thought of you across the ocean

You landed at night

You drove to New Jersey in the morning to get me

You told me that you loved me

Each day we spend together

We drive around in our green Toyota pickup

It's August

Everything in Vermont is so green

We are older now

We complain about things together

It's what people from New Jersey do

We battle with our demons

You dance to make me laugh

I use the wrong word to make you laugh

I had a dream about us

We saw Sirius rise into the night sky

We watch TV together

You hold my hand

I love you.

I'm gonna go out west

Where the suns gets tall

I'll pack up my dreams

My shovel, and saw

I'll finally see the desert

And the old redwood trees

Where the future grows tall

I'll build me a dream

I'm gonna go out west

Where the thunder clouds roll

I'll dig in the earth

Where the dirt turns to gold

I'm gonna go out west

And get myself free

Where the blackbirds gather

I'll plant me a dream

I'm gonna go out west

Before I get old

All my wandering thoughts

Will turn into gold

I'm gonna go out west

And never come back

With room in my head

And treasure in my hands.

The stars, they move

Across the night sky

The heavens meet

In celestial riptides

Capricorn is rising

In the eastern sky

And I am alone

Chasing heaven tonight

Long live the light

That drips from the boughs

The fruit weighs heavy

The branches sink down

The roots descend

As if heaven's crown

Tonight is the night

I chase heaven down

Sometimes I dream

That I cannot see

My eyes, they weigh heavy

They burn from the day

I reach for the water

I reach for the night

On that dark, lonesome road

I chase heaven tonight.

He came from a town

Dug in by the sea

The coastline held treasures

That not all could see

Many made the journey

To the town by the sea

They spoke of its beauty

Its calm, lifting seas

When they came, they built bonfires

That lit up the night

Never seeing the ocean

As it held the moonlight

He understood its wildness

Its destructive tendencies

They came once a year

In the season of peace

He'd seen how its waves

Could swallow men whole

How the ocean collects

What men think they own

He lived in the mud

In the storms and the floods

It was the cold, gray water

That ran through his blood

He needed raw weather

The bays and backwaters

Without open water

His eyes could not see

He would stay there forever

Dug in by the water

His gray eyes held the treasure

That not all could see.

The sky has grown heavy

With the weight of mens' dreams

Once, it was empty

Just the moon and the sea

It contains every sorrow

Every vision and dream

The stars serve as anchors

To the things we can't see

The sky weighs heavy

In the age of tangled dreams

The stars, they are falling

To grant its release

Our lifetimes move quickly

In feverish sleep

They are only small windows

From which we can see

In the age of falling stars

I can hear the sky scream

We are born to forget

What we're destined to see.

The big black birds

In the sky, form circles

They take up the grief

That the earth makes fertile

I lay down my weapons

I come here in peace

I ask you, great river

To grant my release

I feel it coming

The flood again

Grant me great courage

And strength in my hands

Should the flood take me

Should the storm break me

Should the world that I built

Run through my hands

I'll go east to the ocean

Where the great rivers end

Through undying devotion

I will find it again

I'll build up my courage

And the strength in my hands

Where the white birds gather

I will hold it again.