1. |
atalanta
04:34
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everyone is watching atalanta run
no one can catch her, not even one
but they try
atalanta's running with wings on her feet
when atalanta's running, no one can beat her
she flies
king iasos left her to die -
his infant daughter on the mountainside
but she thrived
and now everyone is watching atalanta run
everyone is dreaming they are the one
who can fly
atalanta speared the caledonian boar
and saved ancient greece
deadly but too beautiful
to join the quest for the golden fleece-
jason said no
she who lives freely is misunderstood
she likes it best alone in the woods
under the sky
the forest is singing, can you hear the trees?
the creatures are talking, they don't care what you think
and the gift is this life and a star
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2. |
fish
03:49
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last night the moon lodged in my sleeve
if i were different i'd be thanking jesus
keep a silver dollar in my coat
i pretend it's lucky until i'm broke
long ago lived the libyan sibyl
she always left you with a little riddle
oh fish who swims 'long side me
we both love water and are slimy
yet 'tis i hold in my hand
two worlds - one water & one the land
amphibian they do call me
preferring vision to mastery
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3. |
holy cow
04:45
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there is an eye
there is a feather
there is a moon
that sits in her head-dress
there is a soul
who could have done better,
she gives the dead
chances forever
oh holy cow, o holy cow
dear god will see you now
I left a place
of weightless illusion
taken by grace
to gravity’s confusion
I seek a place
and I seek a solution
I saw a face
and I also heard music
dear god will see me now
who plays for keeps
when times are a-changing?
rise to your feet
saddles are blazing;
look to the east
ask what is Nabta Playa –
what does it mean
and why is it forgotten?
dear god we see you now
hathor, isis is hiding-
do you still laugh at dying?
hathor, stargazers’ secret
it’s really nice to see you.
helen’s face launched
1,000 ships
I’ve heard it said
it was really her hips
some people thought
a woman could be stolen
some people fought
so no one could own her
dear god I see you now
amazons came
to the aid of the trojans
they met their match
on the field in their boldness
achilles took
penthesilea down
he cried afterwards
her beauty bummed him out.
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4. |
spare wings
03:44
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there is time, there are places
there is time, so many faces
there are needs, so much desire
and only seeds survive this fire
in the beginning there was the word
and this was the beginning, how absurd
flesh was the beginning, massing matter to form
from one womb to another, mysterious transformation
is my flesh dirty, is it obscene-
what do the boys see when they look at me?
is my flesh dirty, is it obscene?
that word meant holy before latin or greek
but 3,000 years of lexigraphic change
left my sisters' bodies in a state of defamation
a prostitute was a priestess, that's what that word meant
oracular vision, mary magdalene
was mary dirty, was she obscene?
st. augustine thought so, but jesus never did
don't you know the ones who talk now, talk too much?
don't you know the ones who come out don't know quite what for?
don't you know the ones who call out, this is a surprise -
didn't quite open their eyes soon enough
what makes the apple fall to the ground?
the desire to be eaten - the action that sets the seed free
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5. |
always
03:41
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I don’t always make things better
I don’t always take my time
I don’t always mail my letters
I don’t always like what’s mine
I don’t always say I love you
I don’t always say thank you & please
I don’t always look in the mirror
I don’t always brush my teeth
I don’t always cry about dinner
I don’t always chase falling leaves
I usually notice sunset
I don’t always land on my feet
I don’t always keep my own secrets
I don’t always know what I need
I’m not always watching xena
I don’t always snore when I sleep
i don't always play kickball at recess
i don't always come in first
i don't always have a temper
i don't always show when I’m hurt
I don’t always bother my brother
I know he loves me deep down inside
I don’t always tell my mother
every thing about my life
I don’t always say what I want to
I don’t always say what I mean
I don’t always believe in immortality
I don’t always think before I speak
I don’t always make people smile
I don’t always wait for my turn
I don’t always talk back to teachers
I don’t always remember what I learned
I don’t always have scrapes on my knees
I don’t always show instead of tell
I don’t always hit the ball when I swing
but I catch things very well
written for Eli Taylor, with love, Auntie Jenny
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6. |
thinking in pictures
04:10
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be a tornado, crank it up when hot meets cold
systems of pressure, one above and one below
thinking in pictures, thinking not in words-
thinking in pictures, can you see what i just heard?
be a coyote, tell the truth and say you lied
see who believes you, then sit down and cry and cry
be a tsunami, pull it in to let it go
how come the animals get away but people don't?
be a volcano, sleep and sleep 'til you explode
be a buddha, don't tell anyone what you know
thinking in pictures...
the sun came a-honking like a goose in my dreams
did you know the amazons were ladies swinging in the trees?
something will happen tonight when you go to sleep,
i will come find you and you'll fly away with me
do you remember gryphons and lion-birds?
do you surrender what you know to what you've heard?
so what does it matter different paths to the same goal
i have lost all fear of men, we must let the children know
be a coyote, laugh and laugh 'til you explode
love everybody, turn your tail and hit the road
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7. |
home
04:13
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the sun is a furious star
i'm gonna drive there, got wings on my car
things are curious from the sky
nothing is blurry but i'm speeding by
i'm home
dirt-cracked people speak of liquid days
liquid poetry pours from my legs
i find the light within
and i go home
greeks called her helios
egyptians ra
i call her friend and a gentle warrior
the sun is blinded by her own light
she speaks in the shadows and listens at night
takes me home
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8. |
gypsy
04:36
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you come from far away with pictures in your eyes
of coffee shops and morning streets in the blue and silent sunrise
but night is the cathedral where we recognized the sign
we strangers know each other now as part of the whole design
hold me like a baby that will not go to sleep
curl me up inside you and let me hear you through the heat
you are the jester of this courtyard with a smile like a girl's
distracted by the women with the dimples and the curls
by the pretty and the mischievous, by the timid and the blessed
by the blowing skirts of ladies who promise to gather you to their feet
hold me like a baby that will not go to sleep
curl me up inside you and let me hear you through the heat
you have hands of raining water and that earring in your ear
the wisdom on your face denies the number of your years
with the fingers of the potter and the laughing tale of the fool
the arranger of disorder with your strange and simple rules
yes, now i've met me another spinner of strange and gauzy threads
with a long and slender body and a bump upon the head
hold me like a baby...
with a long and slender body and the sweetest, softest hands
and we'll blow away forever soon and go on to different lands
please do not ever look for me but with me you will stay
and you will hear yourself in song blowing by one day
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9. |
sally's song
01:36
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i know you buried your bone
cause there's dirt on your nose;
and in your eyes the world is mostly
houses trapped by roads-
look, there goes a runner
chasing her is funner
than listening to you!
a walk is a living poem,
there's no place like home-
water is a place you can lick the sky
and sometimes i find myself there
if i could fly i would always take the long way
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Jen Taylor East Haddam, Connecticut
Jen Taylor is a musician, Co-Executive Director of The Sanctuary (a solar-powered 501c-3), and Artistic Director of OmFly (re-wilding for domesticated times through circus arts, trapeze & flying yoga).
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