We Have An Anchor

Beautiful piece at the BAM last night by Jem Cohen. Meditative filmic views of Cape Breton and phenomenal driving music woven by the words of Elizabeth Bishop and Don Domanski, among others.


Jem Cohen: We Have An Anchor from EMPAC @ Rensselaer on Vimeo.

Fata Morgana

you’re walking alone in the forest the moon is directly overhead eating her supper of astronomy and wedding-gifts
there’s a thousand miles of trees in every direction
which means there’s just enough blood to go around
so you mustn’t spill a drop
of course every second tree is the Tree of Death
every third one
the Tree of Life
while all the others
are doors to atonement but you mustn’t knock
you’re like me
and want a straight line through everything
but there aren’t any here no path from A to B
no A or B
you’re not lost
this is the earth you’re not human but a fox or a rabbit
your life behind a desk was an illusion
the shining city a madness brought on by fatigue

there aren’t any cars or telephones there never were
not a single clothesline or shoelace in all the world
your heartbeats are so many peapods being cracked open between a finger and a thumb
your footprints swallow themselves as you walk along
what I said about the moon was a lie there were never any weddings
or any gifts
not an astronomer to be found
the moon is devouring you just you tonight
with your long ears pricked up in their sad salute to fear
this hour is called Abandonment
this night Bottomless
I would call you Insignificant
if you weren’t already named Essential
if you weren’t the very centre of the world.