she pulls on a string
“shall we depart?”
red velvet lips sing
in the key of a child’s dream
her smile
like some ancient wordless drama
written for kings
lost children surround her
smiling and nodding
they listen as she speaks
glass chimes ring
in a foul wind
“the port-town called Homeward
has work for you all
it’s in the Candlelight Lands
where night never quite falls
its bridges stretch high
above the gull-mottled sea
where ships big as whales
can take you anywhere you wish to be
the streets are a labyrinth
no, you’ll never see it all
but there’s a shop on every corner
with something wondrous…
and novel to show”
with threads of twilight, romance and magic
she quietly sews their way
through the darkening woods
the kids blindly follow
In love with her wide and unblinking eyes
Like the light of the moon
Seen from the hopeless depths
of a violent sea
quicksilver drips
From her inhuman face
Like some Mad jack’s collection
Of baroque picture-frames
That the cannibal artist
Gave the puppeteer king
Who nurtured the features
Till he broke all his fingers
His lifelong ambition,
Was to make a real face
With conviction, wisdom, elegance,
With beauty and grace
the flame
of her wildlings’ allegiance
grows brighter each day
as the never-ending fable
takes them away
first Johnny grows fangs
and he bites Michael’s tail
who screams in black flames
its lucky Lucy’s grown scales
some children are winged,
others writhe in the dirt
all fur, spikes and horns
some have four eyes or more
no laughing or screaming
they just growl and roar
and their queen, she is singing
knocking an arrow
to her wild hawthorn bow
what’s underneath?
Some porcelain thing
sits broken, her puzzle
pieces hang loose
with wire and string
sneaking out from the cracks
in her red velvet lips
she sews while she sings
the wild heather sways in the breeze
that blows from the sea
it’s made out of leather
and by nightfall
it should be complete
Crash City Saints are Kalamazoo, Michigan's timeworn torch-bearing shoegazers. Josh Garman is my friend and psychedelic hero. Keep fighting the good fight, brother! UUNO
Sharp, smart lyrics set to ’60s rock melodies, the latest from Daily Worker is the sound of yesterday with a contemporary edge. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 6, 2023
This batch of quarantine recordings by Texas musician Daily Worker recalls the classic lo-fi days of GBV, with hissy sonics and huge hooks. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 14, 2020
Lefse announce the forthcoming LP from a Winnipeg psychedelic-dream pop outfit who promise "a 1-way ticket to make-out city." Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 2, 2016