a letter of wistful foreboding from a researcher who has seen and learned more than they should have

dear friend i write to you swiftly
with scarlet ink and a woe
my note will be fleeting
but promise while reading
to hang on to every word

all the days are forgetting
they told me i was alone
but leafing through pages
does nothing for aged
fingers that work to the bone

through the archway
where the bookspines fold
they will show you the way

this study cramped and musty
a coffin to call my abode
each cold glance i've earned
passing through me i've learned
not to trust those that make it a home

i met a ghost that tended a garden
they showed me their most prized marrow
tendons and teeth
amongst pale meadowsweet
seeds of doubt are beginning to grow

through the archway
footprints cremated to smoke
they will show you the way

a letter from a notable source

A Drummer's Arm (feat. Frances Quinlan)

A song from the 2021 archives... hated it back when I wrote it, but after some cleaning I think she's ready to go out into the world!

Lyrics:

Bundles could never warm me up,
by God, even the sun won’t do;
I shiver asleep with dreams to be
a living pyre among the spruce.

I’ve heard word of a forest aflame, how a flare eats at lamb’s wool—
hair soaking thick with gasoline, I’ll hail this hearth my home.

My Momma met a doctor once,
who diagnosed me as a ghost,
‘cause no flame too harsh, nor glacier cold
could pierce my stiffened soul.
But, I could never fall in love,
this body, weakened, would
keel with fever strong and rough…
even if I could.

I’ve heard word of a forest aflame, how a flare eats at lamb’s wool—
hair soaking thick with gasoline, I’ll hail this hearth my home
(hail this hearth my home)

No, I’m no kindling, nor no coal,
but it’ll light me like wood.
And I’m no hunter, nor no hunt,
but it has caught me good.
No, I’m no lover, nor no love,
yet this, I’ve mourned and chewed…
And I’m no hunter, nor no hunt
but it has caught me good.

Living Pyre Among the Spruce [2021 Demo]

Played by The Crane Wives...
Kate Pillsbury - Emilee Petersmark - Ben Zito - Dan Rickabus

featuring their friends…
Steven Leaf - Savannah Buist - Katie Larson - Seth Bernard
Justin Dore - Ian Gorman - Michael Dause

Produced by The Crane Wives & Ian Gorman
Mixed by Ian Gorman
Engineered by Ian Gorman & Ben Zito
Recorded at La Luna Recording & Sound in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Mastered by Glenn Brown at GBP Studios in Lansing Michigan

Artwork by Rebecca Green

Thank you ~ our loving families, Ian & Rachel Gorman, Edith the Kitty, Carmen & Javier Vargas of Mi Pueblo in Kalamazoo, Rebecca Green, Joey Schultz of Chickenbach, The Accidentals, Seth Bernard & May Erlewine Bernard, Steve Leaf & the Ex Pats, Sean & Sarah Lamborne, Arlo Lamborne, Tyler Rehm, 88.1 WYCE, Matt Jarrells, John Sinkevics at Local Spins, Amber Buist, Josh Gibson, Bill Chesney, Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys, The Appleseed Collective, Kris Kessel, Marianne Fisher, Leah Pillsbury

Special thanks to our PledgeMusic campaign donors. We would not exist without our fans! We are so grateful.

Never Love An Anchor

Untitled.219AM.22Jul.2009.m4a

Kami Uwak/W1ND_FR0M_A_CR0WS_W1NG

Related tracks