1. |
Adage 1
04:49
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2. |
Adage 2
06:05
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An empty wagon makes a lot of noise.
Forget about the mules and load the wagon
‘Till the cows come home.
Quot homines, tot sentientiae (so many men, so many opinions)
In arena aedificas (you are building on the sand)
Evitata Charybdi in Scyllam incidi (having escaped Charybdis I fell into Scylla)
Clavi findere ligna et securi fores aperire (to split logs with a key and open the door with an axe)
An unfed dog never be in a playful mood [and]
Every eye closed ain’t sleep
Never build another man’s empire
You’d complain even if they hung you with a new rope!
If your horse dies, I suggest you dismount
The potatoes are manipulating us!
Pigs get fed, while hogs get slaughtered!
What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket.
The rooster rules the roost, but the hen rules the rooster.
The willing horse carries the load.
Quot homines, tot sententiea (so many men, so many opinions…)
In arena aedificas (you are building on the sand)
Evitata Charybdi in Scyllam incidi (having escaped Charybdis I fell into Scylla)
Clavi findere ligna et securi fores aperire (to split logs with a key and open the door with an axe)
In forbus urceum (the water-jar on the doorstep)
Homo bulla, homo bulla, homo bulla…. (Man is but a bubble)
If your horse dies, I suggest you dismount
The potatoes are manipulating us!
La, la, la, la, la….
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3. |
Table Grace
01:59
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Bless O Lord this food to our use,
And us to thy service;
And may we ever be mindful of the needs of others,
Amen.
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4. |
Shopping
01:55
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Columbian rains
and the bean
will stand along side the liquor store
a hoarse cough
be a guest inside from the rains
in an empty pocket
in an empty room
no cotton
will ever wear dry
not in this economic environment
for it always rains
in this climate of ours
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5. |
Galleon
00:57
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the galleon
of men and gold
to hasty fathoms lie
of Spanish word
and iron silk
all pass history by
in bubbles
the murky depth
to sink
into depths of old
one great cause
and one great pen
can never put Humpty
back together again
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6. |
Neighbourhood
02:16
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I will give you land
with fertile soil
the sky
wind
dominion
that would be fine
you say
but one must live
next to me
to feel free
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7. |
Promises
04:33
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Heaven's rest in bells and whistles
blow the leaves and rings
take my hand and blow the night
of means and squandering
things I might would say to do
and times we could contend?
and I as child might pray to you
and all the favours seeming
blow the night and promise to intend
take my hand whose happening
as only can pretend
Heaven's rest that knew it true
might search in leaves and rings
take the hands of witness past
in walk forever fancy
charted to action as hands may go
can speak however folded
cross a finger
or press the leaves
for all whose complex hearts
and when shall curse the deaf to speak
shall heaven ever sign?
then come to this
where love is never
in all the leaves and time
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8. |
Flight Plan
04:50
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She was the birds that I imagined
and loved
would I think about them
in my span
the world twisting and turning
aye
I would
the last chance
for a foregone conclusion
a flight plan
I might migrate
to skies and tears
or sleepy hollows
charted dimensions
it
might
flash before me
but I cannot see clearly
in my span
the world twisting and turning
because I cannot see clearly
in a chaotic spread
I am nothing
but the emptiness
of shattered songs
and promises
twisting, turning
last chance
skies and tears
shattered songs
flight plan
twisting tight
the shattered dreams
she was the birds....
would I think about them
a foregone conclusion
I am nothing
but the emptiness
of shattered songs
in my span
the world twisting and turning
the world twisting tight
around
all that I hoped to be
she was the birds that I imagined
and loved
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9. |
The Vessel
03:45
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The middle finger rides the temples
the road
saddled between ear and beard
jaw and bone
outline the main
circle its body
from pulse to pulse
mind and depression
I imagine the extent of it
wrapping the skull
round and round
branch to branch
the novelty of each tracing
prosper those pulses
torment to torment
until there is nothing more to notice
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10. |
The Largest of Women
06:04
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Impressions can tell a boy a lot
about the grounds of universals
how else can one balance the rose garden
and the finger paintings on the walls?
there were the dubious matters
always
the wicked old priest
whose bread was too stale for its own good
worthiness of my design
yes, boys can be lofty in their fathoms
stained glass and crucifixes
they were all there
but the lights
and carpeting
the closets and the coat hangers
dominate a house
I remember
I would play my music by myself
in the bible school
when the lights went dim
I was there
in the dividers
and the closets
alone
and there was the woman
of brilliant greens and pinks unspoken
dominating the picture
everything about her was large
she seemed so to me
I saw her scolding the other children
patrolling during the morning service
looking for the forsaken
and they were afraid
yet I would remain with the shadows
in the darkness of the church
she was afraid of me
they were all afraid of me
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11. |
The Grave
03:58
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I command the graveyard
to my beckon call
where voices
and spirits
lie flush
under my tread
crush ‘em down
into the earth
where they roam
amongst earthworms
and slimy things
of the imagination
wiggle around
before my stride
envelope the world
of hearts and quizzlers
of dragons and little boys
I’ll roam the grave
at midnight
reserve a place for myself
as small as light
for its attraction
has everything to do
with the thunder
of the living
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12. |
The Yew Tree
03:45
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daddy’s yew tree
of a darkened sorts
grew behind the trailer
a cement square filled with dirt
so one could park it
let us fill the lot
now
it would be a shame
to lose the tree
It can cure cancer
he proclaimed
mwah
rip it from the ground
plant it by the driveway
give it something to do
it’s not doing very well
he said
but as far as I’m concerned
it was destined
to be dead
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13. |
Of Mars and Venus
02:23
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I dreamt
of cosmic plains
and fountains adorned
with three headed lizards
Of skies of celestial reds and greens
And waters that flow
upside down
amongst the alien canopy
of the cactus rain forest
I'd swing amongst the trees
of purple apes
as a Tarzan
of a gas giant
Mars and Venus
Neptune and Epsilon Centauri
Scattered about
oh so un-scientifically
in my dreary bedroom
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14. |
Her Eyes
02:43
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Cast deep into the wave
would carry her
and all that enthusiasm would bring
in oysters and pearls
the days when even the most
modest of trinkets
cast joy and smiles
radiate throughout the room
shine and blue
the gaze of young
exuberance
those crystal doors
deep into the soul
would fade
ephemeral moments
pass so quickly
into the cold winds
of that terrible
deep
winter
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15. |
The Garden
03:41
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The Garden
of Eden is idle
wilted
with but the faint sound
of an old breeze
the purple orchid
whose bell hung low
shriveled and tired
no water
to drip off petal
or rose
and even the sun
weary in the far off grassy hill
holding on for just one more day
seven days
and night eternal
the cast off
the dying
of Eve's discarded ambitions
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16. |
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In that dizzying madness
she would place herself
the world spinning
wild and free
on a twisted axis
fingers twirling
long hair and many years
the streaks of headlights
and the roar of nightclubs
cocktails and lineups
spewed out with a fervour
down the sidewalks
city after city
And in the end
they waited for that dawn
so trapped
deep below the ocean's horizon
Shadows and parched
youth buried
that which cannot be spoken of
the “shes” and their most bitter of wines
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17. |
Still In You
02:40
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The light is still in you
somehow
a peppering of tenderness
here or there
Though you breathe the stale air
of shadows and dampness
alone in your citadel
of bone
and reason
Your blood cools
slows
each heartbeat
tired and laboured
The cobwebs gather
The laughter of children
grows ever fainter
This motionless lake
where golden sunset
shimmers on water
Board this canoe
Take my hand
In our faces
and in our hair
We will meet the wind again
together
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18. |
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He made a world of ink and phrase
sat on the grassy hill
as a warm summer breeze
raised up from the river
yellow grass and couples
walking by
dogs and holding hands
cast words all about
off to the mountains of the island
across the straight
and in the end
he would crack the Earth in two
for unlike Genesis
there would be no rest
upon this round and dry
hill of sand and grass
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19. |
End of Land
03:27
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End of dyke
end of land
overlooking the old one-story farmhouse
with the large stained pyramidal roof
up river
in the distance
the one lane Westham Island swing motor bridge
turns slowly
cars wait
for a small rundown pleasure boat to pass
I rest for a time
on a cement barrier
choked with blackberry bushes
across from the old green steel garbage can
and its crinkled black plastic garbage bag
the bumblebees are out
enticed by flowers of
purple, white and slightly pink
that boat passes now
weaving around and about
the shallows of the sandbars
disappearing with a fading low rumble of diesel
past the rotting ancient pilings
of a long-gone fish cannery
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Ludwig Recordings Delta, British Columbia
Ludwig Recordings is a Record Label specializing in the music of composer Christopher Ludwig and its artists.
Ludwig Recordings has an especially strong focus on Art Song.
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