Sentinel Pine Lyrics
Gathering of the Waters
come to the gathering
the great release
crystal mountains in pieces
the night will freeze
the day will shine
a thousand summers, a blink of the eye
come to the gathering
the world we know
endlessly being undone
the night will hold
the day will break
the waters will gather again and again
come to the gathering
of the waters
in the narrows
on a rare Earth
come to the gathering
but stand aside
it’s a long way to the present
the river bends
the channel winds
the wheel turns with no one to stop it
Past Lives
I was born here in the cradle
of the birches and the maple
resurrecting in the sunshine
of the lowlands and the alpine
here I walk among my past lives
of the sea cliffs and the grape vines
on this journey they have followed me
but this garden wall has swallowed me
where the fire defends the living
have I taken more than given
still a stranger and still a child here
and still learning to be wild here
The Alder
awakened by a wild flame
and nurtured by the alder
and hazel lace of sunlight haze
and threads of cold spring water
the seasons scribed in spiral
a feather bed below
and upward toward the churning sky
the heavy smell of snow
taken by a wild wind
the wooded wings in black
the jet stream highway exits
and there’s no turning back
beyond the lower atmosphere
a single deep exhale
from a turning pale blue marble
on an interstellar sail
along a thread of being
through every time and place
arriving long ago to feed
the dawn of a wild flame
Long Sleep
fill my cup with ice
pour a drink of northern lights
summer has been plenty long
winter den, here I come
I’ll stay here from June to May
in my long sleep
I’ll wait for this spell to break
and then I’ll leave
smoke that spills down to my shoulders
embers on the wind
leaves untether from my hair
a blue awakening
I’ll stay here from June to May
in my long sleep
I’ll wait for this spell to break
and then I’ll leave
Sentinel Pine
in a hundred years
when the glaciers have disappeared
if you’re still standing and i’m not here
will you tell them all about the ice
in a million tides
when the oceans have all gone dry
if you’re still standing and i’m not here
will you tell them all about the rain
in a billion turns
when our star no longer burns
if you’re still standing and i’m not here
will you tell them all about the sunrise