1. |
When Will
02:32
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(1) When Will
when will I see your faces in a crowd again,
basking in celebration with a kitchen full of friends?
this long nighttime it will have to end
I’m counting down the seconds until then
and if the waiting grows too long
I can sing you this song
when will I see you smiling with your eyes alight?
when will I hear you laughing as we talk into the night?
this long absence wasn’t meant to be
I’m counting down the seconds until you’re with me
I’m already long overdue
to throw my arms around you
we’ll sit around the table, once the flood recedes
and eat raspberry jam and biscuits
until we’re bursting at the seams
this long deluge it will reach an end
and I’m counting down the seconds until then
and if the waiting grows too long
I can sing you this song
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2. |
Rosary of the Routine
03:18
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(2) Rosary of the Routine
walking in the garden of your solitude
but the seeds of your imagining are slow to bear fruit
you don’t need a full harvest-load
just a single leaf to fall, that’s all,
that’s everything
night, and the day’s bewilderments begin to fade
but the bioluminescence of your worries remains
sprinkled on the map of your memories
like the constellation of a life you tried but couldn’t lead
close your eyes and let oblivion
hold you in its arms tonight
circling on the telephone, your conversation walks
the rosary of the routine, but you just need to talk
so the message is the medium
a voice in the void to break the night
a faint light
one light, that’s everything
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3. |
Torricelli's Ocean
03:29
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(3) Torricelli’s Ocean
drove away from sadness
found a brighter address
hoping a change will do us some good
put the past behind us
try to live in kindness
this quarantine feels like a marathon Turing Test at times
we live down at the bottom of an ocean of air
in a sea of problems
but when the pressure doesn’t get us
we learn to fly (sometimes)
the ring of our telephones is a constant barrage
we’re providing IT support and emotional triage
every day is demanding
it feels like we’re still standing
but the stars could all go out tonight
and we wouldn’t know for years
we live down at the bottom of an ocean of air
in a sea of problems
but when the pressure doesn’t get us
we learn to fly sometimes
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4. |
Day Follows Day
02:26
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(4) Day Follows Day
day follows day follows day
until I can’t remember a time before
night after night after night
the sea stretches on without a shore
do you ever hear a voice from far away calling?
do you ever dream of solid ground and wake up falling?
day follows day follows day
until I can’t remember a time before
night after night after night
the sea stretches on without a shore
do you ever feel the need to break something?
ever want to run away?
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5. |
Taking Five
01:54
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(5) Taking Five
first awake Christmas morning
it’s cold and gray so you’re almost alone
as you run past the hospital parking
up the hill and beyond
find your pace
the tension relaxes
it’s a happy day with the children all home
in a while, you’ll be feasting and laughing
while the world takes five
from the strife
and the news
and the lies
and the cure
and the crime
and the losses
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6. |
For Now
03:50
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(6) For Now
break of day
rain tapping on the skylight
urging us awake
but don’t rush away
for now
time to rise
and be about our business
obligations insist
but I hesitate
for now
there’s only now
breathe slow
lie still
and stay a while
the world beyond can keep a while
let come what may for now
lying still
there’s a sparrow outside my window
his eyes are frozen wide
in the final surprise of now
just now
there’s only now
breathe slow
lie still
and stay a while
the world beyond can keep a while
let come what may for now
break of day
rain tapping on the skylight
urging us awake
but don’t rush away
for now
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7. |
Disambiguation
02:40
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(7) Disambiguation
let’s not beat around the vegetation
jump right to the matter at hand
dead straight disambiguation:
the only thing I want is to be your man
I don’t want just a taste of the action
I don’t want to root from the stands
I want the full calamity of satisfaction
all the better and worse and the promised land
I want to be your man
I've got the…
I've got the…
I've got everything but your authorization
come on wave me in and let me land
I want to be your man
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8. |
Stay a While
04:04
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(8) Stay a While
Waiting for a friend in the lobby of the music building at the local university, I was reading Walk Around by David Blair, all silent except for one low note, barely audible, between a hiss and a hum, coming from the central air
no one around except for me
until there burst from the elevator a quartet of 30-something ladies who sat across from me, three of them speaking rapidly in a foreign language, punctuated by snatches of loud music from their phones, while the fourth read her messages, only chiming in on occasion to agree
overflowing with laughter and life
overflowing with laughter
while some worship the respectful silence of the shared space, be it gallery, public transit, or the aforementioned lobby, others surrender
themselves unselfconsciously to life, like a faucet turned on full and left running for eternity, considering the water of conversation a thing
to be immersed in, splashed about, and enjoyed, not hoarded like a precious resource
overflowing with laughter and life
overflowing with laughter
stay a while
tell your story to me
stay a while
tell your story to me
my batteries are low
and my heart is sinking
tell your story to me
tell your story to me
tell your story to me
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Last Charge of the Light Horse New York
Last Charge of the Light Horse was formed in 2004 as a vehicle for songwriter Jean-Paul Vest's nuanced examinations of the quiet joys and struggles of everyday life.
www.lastcharge.com
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