Tuesday, August 30, 2011

pagan angel

love was a promise made of smoke
in a frozen copse of trees
a bone cold and older than our bodies
slowly floating in the sea
every morning there were planes
the shiny blades of pagan angels in our father's skies
every evening i would watch her hold the pillow
tight against her hollows, her unholy child
i was still a beggar shaking out my stolen coat
among the angry cemetery leaves
when they caught the king beneath the borrowed car
righteous, drunk, and fumbling for the royal keys

love was a father's flag and sung like a shank
in a cake on our leather boots
a beautiful feather floating down
to where the birds had shit on empty chapel pews
every morning we found one more machine
to mock our ever waning patience at the well
every evening she'd descend the mountain stealing socks
and singing something good where all the horses fell
like a snake within the wilted garden wall
i'd hint to her every possibility
while with his gun the pagan angel rose to say
"my love is one made to break every bended knee"

all words iron and wine

4 comments:

Lisa Ursu said...

I LOVE this post.
"sung like a shank
in a cake on our leather boots"
what a song, thanks!
I hope you have been well.

Elisabeth said...

What an amazing conjunction of words and music. Stunning. Thanks, Steven.

Jo said...

"my love is one made to break every bended knee"

Hallelujah!

The music and the harmonies of this song are sooooo beautiful.

Rarely are words so exquisitely put together that I care less about the meaning they convey and more about just saying them outloud to see how they roll off the tongue!

Splendid!

Thank you, Steven!

erin said...

i have just recently fallen deeply in love with the space that sits behind Sam Beans' eyes, inside and beside his words. my god, this man!

xo
erin