Song of the Old


will you write the song of the old
the way it really is
the innocence of a shy melody
the awkwardness of silences
it hurts too much to behold
will you write the song of the old

I dreamt you had fallen
you couldn`t stand
strangers taking
the ship you made with your hands

will you write the song of a child
the way it really is
with so many wise almost words
sung in uncertain voices
by a rhyme the heart is beguiled
will you write the song of a child

seeing you now 
through curtains of then
floating your boat for beginnings
shaking a stick at the end
only a child can write the song of the old

will you write the song of the old
the way it really is
the way it really is


© Robert Cordrey April 2020

Song Of The Old

Leaving St. Seraphina`s

   today I ate pine bark and fiddleheads
   got a full belly of fight
   Brother Remnant Sister Makepeace
   did you miss me turning out the lights
   I`m five miles down the northern pike

  lay me down in trembling alder
  my finger boat crosses the moon
  grandmother grey I found your bear star
  lost my language in a locked room
  scrubbed with lye lies and brooms
  
  I`m leaving St Seraphina`s
  took my name you can`t keep me
  from a house over Malaspina
  scars never show on the sea
  no scars on the sea

  tracks I dawdle down scared of wild eyes
  travel nights like the spirit fox
  Brother Remnant Sister Makepeace
  I am like this black beetle in a box
  your sermons sound like rattling rocks

  I`m leaving St Seraphina`s
  took my name you can`t keep me
  from a house over Malaspina
  scars never show on the sea
  no scars on the sea

  leaving St Seraphina`s
  barefoot again kick off your hard boots
  I`m the grass on the winter prairie
  only died down to my roots
  only died to my roots

    © Robert Cordrey July 2021

Leaving St. Seraphina`s

Find Me

kids are kites in the wind
we cut the strings trying to reach home
sail above clouds sink under the sea
hang on to your ticket to roam

those days were so beautiful
for the boys of mess and majesty
if I ever lost sight of you
close my eyes count to fifty

do you ache ache for the way we used to be
awake asleep endless endlessly
under covers in the trees
little brother do you see
where the time goes
find me

you tumbled off  my map
in my memory you landed headfirst
I`m falling to you like gravity
to find someone must you lose them first

i never tried to hide 
anywhere but in your eyes would you believe
now there`s nothing in all my treasures
more worn out than me

I ache ache for the way we used to be
awake asleep endless endlessly
under  covers in the trees
little brother do you see
where the time goes
find me

I sit in front of our movie screen
dressed up for a journey

do you ache ache for the way we used to be
awake asleep endless endlessly
under covers in the trees
little brother do you see
where the time goes
find me

© Robert Cordrey June 2022

Find Me

https://soundcloud.com/mootsman
http://www.janiceandbud.com/

     Vacant Chair

there`s a path through the autumn woods
his footsteps turned from
a song I can almost hear
a girl had begun
in the evening I still see her
collecting stones and questions from the air
to throw into the silent pool
around a vacant chair

who is wearing all the big shoes
taken from the closet
why are wedding photographs
in a box under the bed
that man said he`s in a better place
but I saw I heard the piper`s air
walking to tree seventeen
across town from a vacant chair

sometimes I go back to the old house
to look at fading pictures
blow the dust from the shadows
chase the grey from his hair
when the RCA radio plays Waltzing Matilda
I am dancing with my daddy
and there is no vacant chair

and wallpaper swallows 
still fly toward the windows
his grey hat by the door
is dripping with cold rain
in the evening I still see her
singing her song her heart to repair
as long as sweet smoke lingers
above a vacant chair

sometimes I go back to the old house
to look at fading pictures
blow the dust from the shadows
chase the grey from his hair
when the RCA radio plays Waltzing Matilda
I am dancing with my daddy
and there is no vacant chair

dancing dancing with my daddy
dancing with my daddy 

© Robert Cordrey May 1995

Vacant Chair  (with Janice)

The Bitter Taste Of Red


can you live another life
erase the senses of the heart
make a blessing from a curse
change the arc of a star


all the rainbow ribbons
momma fastened through her hair
Jenny keeps with daddy`s laugh
like braids through despair
still feels her friend`s eyes 
they never lingered or traced
eyes that saw past
the mark upon her face

the cool touch of blue
cool touch of blue
that`s how she learnt 
the cool touch of blue

fell into a fire 
when she was born into this world
Jenny turned herself to water
like a helpful little girl
one spark in the silence
between a woman and a man
picked up her bucket
into the flames she ran

the bitter taste of red
bitter taste of red
that`s how she learnt
the bitter taste of red

heaven swirled with hell
by strangers she was raised
I`m from a nuclear family
Jenny said but she kept safe
all the rainbow ribbons 
momma fastened through her hair
with daddy`s laugh in a treasure box
called can`t go back there

the healing sound of time
healing sound of time
that`s how she learnt
the healing sound of time


the bitter taste of red
bitter taste of red
that`s how she learnt
the bitter taste of red


© Robert Cordrey Oct. 2018

The Bitter Taste Of Red

To Catch A Magpie

Willow oh Willow
what`s this I see
you kilt your gown skipping
my nemesis to meet
he preens like a vicar
in plumage of black and white
o`ermasters our love
with a mesmerist`s eye

one for sorrow
two for joy
three for a girl
four for a boy

Clem my Clem
remember the day
lilt in her voice
the Weavers Stone where you lay
be furtive not bold
let your tongue be your sword
your rival plays this game
like devil like a lord

five for silver
six for gold
seven for a secret
never to be told

take care take 
when you set your snare
to catch a magpie

the Magpie the Magpie
many words little truth
has her soul on tiptoes
on her promise she broods
Clem rushes in
with hailstone of blows
to the gallows not Willow
he`ll soon pledge his oath

one for sorrow
two for joy
three for a girl
four for a boy

the sky shall fall
before that pitiless eye
when love lies bleeding
away flies the magpie

five for silver
six for gold
seven for a secret
never to be told

take care take 
when you set your snare
to catch a magpie


© Robert Cordrey May, 2019

To Catch A Magpie

The Light Keeper`s Waltz

all he remembers
falls rises with the sea
a shell the tide uncovers
as her ship sails out of reach

his beam signals warning
like the wink of a mad man`s eye
the light keeper talking
with the better half of his sky

you trim the wick
I`ll strike the match
slowly turns the helix
waltz with me
around our prism palace
come back to the light
for a farewell kiss

sworn to outshine the stars
together hostage of the sea
he curses those careless stars
writes her name in the log entry

shadows vine the tower
climbing back years with every rung
no ghost incandescent vapour
the keeper`s wife is ever young

you trim the wick
I`ll strike the match
slowly turns the helix
waltz with me
around our prism palace
come back to the light
for a farewell kiss

come back to the light

© Robert Cordrey Feb. 2019

The Lightkeeper`s Waltz

Play In The Ruins

boats of sticks and hollow shoes
eyes of grey race eyes of blue
the river takes all you`ve won

throwing mud into the light
propeller arms no more fight
father carries the son

nothing more to be done
we play
play in the ruins

so the days tumble down
running through this scowling town
angels of rain will overcome

draw balloons in scrapbook clouds
write something the heart allows
father`s stories of the son

nothing more to be done
we play
play in the ruins

torn up ticket for someplace new
eyes of grey face eyes of blue
patch the pieces into a song

all borne away in time
leaving only love
behind the saintly moon
gather in remembered rooms
father carried by the son

nothing more to be done
we play
play in the ruins
play
play in the ruins

© Robert Cordrey July, 2019

Play In The Ruins

Unseen Unknown Unheard


wanting to be seen
my lord made jewels green
to live in your eyes

carry silence with you
like a backpack
like those birds out the window
at school

one day turning cartwheels
then holding your breath
seeing faces from the bottom 
of a pool

we called him Uncle Amazing 
he looked like Steve McQueen
all candy card tricks
sleight of hand

games behind closed doors
the cost to keep mum
on the tip of your tongue
like a brand

you slip through the seam
between worlds
unseen unknown
unheard

needing to be known
the heart outgrows bone
beats beyond your walls

he sent a singing postcard
playing we`ll meet again
in the fort we made
to be safe

there`s a ghost at the table
girl without edges
where is my sister
you replaced 

slip back through the seam
between worlds
be seen be known
be heard

longing to be heard
the beginnings of words
no secret can contain
no secret can contain


© Robert Cordrey Aug. 2019

unseen unknown unheard

Angels Don`t Do Anything

almost out of chances allowed
to read your tattoed soul
getting close enough to know
your masterpeice of art
will break someone`s heart

take a train to become invisible
lose yourself in the blur
in stations of the waiting world
a girl`s unforgettable face
returning you to grace

angels
angels don`t do anything
angels are just there
oceans in their eyes
making hard truth and lies
easier to bear

man in the torn straw hat
beside you as you fight against the crowd
whispers can sound so loud
did he say was it a dream 
over here step outside stream

nights you try to make more light
burning rights with wrongs on a pyre
standing all around the fire
children who never lost faith
in promises you made

angels
angels don`t do anything
angels are just there
oceans in their eyes
making hard truth and lies
easier to bear
oceans in their eyes
making hard truth and lies
easier to bear


© Robert Cordrey Sept. 2019

Angels Don`t Do Anything

Prayer Wheels

we left them singing
guitars sliding and haunting the dawn 
shanty children drag their wings
to the Highway of Kings

on our horizon
see them run they run my love
ghostly gleaming horses pure as thoughts
when the Father tied these knots

I would bless and honour your days
signs of a solitary road
steer the other way
when dogs are at our heels
I`ll help you turn 
these prayer wheels

change the antenna
in squalor flowers of such beauty
this is your world roots in the mud
your lotus blooms above

I would bless and honour your days
signs of a solitary road
steer the other way
when dogs are at our heels
I`ll help you turn 
these prayer wheels

tires spin and heal 
our promise turns
prayer wheels

© Robert Cordrey March 2020

Prayer Wheels

Castaway


in a field sitting adrift
knees up to his chest
a bitter boy`s first glimpse of a last breath
he`ll soon find a tune
wish I had more illusions
planet earth is blue nothing I can do

for a touch without hurting
a heart quietly enduring

with rescue uncertain
through a gap in the curtain
you`ll see his candle holding out
he`ll be the hammer the anvil
pray for an angle
under a roof of ragged dreams

for a touch without hurting
a heart quietly enduring
shining on endless islands
count them above diamonds
tears of the castaway

city lights receding from on high
visions rise on the ebb tide

the boy will be a man
marooned til he understands
planet earth is blue one thing I can do

touch without hurting
a heart quietly enduring
shining on endless islands
count them above diamonds
tears of the castaway

© Robert Cordrey May 2020

Castaway

When Her Eyes Shine

a stowaway to the gates of heaven
didn`t mind they were closed
she brought back the radiance
spilled onto her clothes

people piled higher`n higher she said
from earth up into space
grabbing grasping yearning
until the stars back away

I always was the restless kind 
one more twist to tune my string
since she told me of her vision
settle and stick that`s my thing

been hither `n thither
I can live wherever
we hang our do not disturb sign
home grown happy
when her eyes shine

sometimes she wants to walk out of our painting
we have to widen the frame
when someones been close to heaven
you just want to stay near their flame

the meadow mown in spirals we have tea
at the door of the soul within
don`t need scientists or preachers
in her arms is where my world begins

been hither `n thither
I can live wherever
we hang our do not disturb sign
home grown happy
when her eyes shine
home grown happy
when her eyes shine


© Robert Cordrey June 2020

When Her Eyes Shine

Waltzing At The Rainbow`s End


the play begins as an ocean
is folded and hung to dry
seven stars go squawking
like geese about the sky

ropes and rollers rumble storms
where the world falls away
with bricks of many colours
you build an arch
day after day

should the rainmaker relent
in your company I`d be honoured to pretend
waltzing at the rainbow`s end

climbing through a trapdoor 
down the tree of your life
ransacked by ravens
dreams open to the sky

the prompter reads backwards 
the hero loses his way
between maidens and villains
he wanders 
all over the stage

on paper wings to ascend
start the music we`ll pretend
waltzing at the rainbow`s end

waltzing at the rainbow`s end
waltzing at the rainbow`s end
hold on with your eyes
the curtain descends
waltzing at the rainbow`s end


© Robert Cordrey July 2020

Waltzing At The Rainbow`s End

Three Pale Brothers

I forbid this portrayal
I should be her lover in your song
the elder pale brother flushed crimson
with a rifle to the wildlands he`s gone

lie lie lie 
to a pair of blue eyes

get thee behind me brazen serpent
must you sing of her apple cheeks
the middle pale brother in cassock black
resisting her beauty kneels to plead

lie lie lie
to a pair of blue eyes

I will not cease my serenade
this guitar the strings of my web
the younger pale brother with prose purple
wraps her in a promise she`ll regret

lie lie lie 
tor a pair of blue eyes

look to the ledge look to the tower
the maid loves three pale brothers
cross my heart hope to die
say a pair of blue eyes

the hunter the priest and the poet
in two worlds this maids heart they rule
three pale brothers bitter rivals
make her their slave their Queen their fool

lie lie lie
to a pair of blue eyes

walking night and day in the grave yard
the maid bids all who dwell stand erect
point to the house of three pale brothers
as one they show a single crypt

lie lie lie
to a pair of blue eyes

angels on the ledge on the tower
save the maid loves three pale brothers
cross my heart hope to die
say a pair of blue eyes
cross my heart hope to die
say a pair of blue eyes


© Robert Cordrey  June 2020

Three Pale Brothers

Eyes Wide Blind

clinging in the rigging
to reach hard harbour town
took all her wild bird poise
refugee eyes still surprised
she flew into the glass
one time I didn`t laugh with the boys

held her to be kind
her eyes wide blind

searching her circuits
`til  lights turned green again
she walked away I wouldn`t say her heart was read
enduring things to glimpse her wings
somewhere in a crowd
the backrow kid singing in his head

held her to be kind
her eyes wide blind

lay me under senseless stones
my bones tell of the time
I held a bird
her eyes wide blind

is our living only trying
to do no more than no harm 
boats come and go who sees their wake

hold someone to be kind
our eyes wide blind

lay me under senseless stones
my bones tell of the time
I held a bird
her eyes wide blind


© Robert Cordrey August 2020

Eyes Wide Blind

Pure

naturally like the hexagon for the bee
building love strong`s second nature to thee
sweet honey comes with democracy
your love will never all belong to me

so much to add when I seem blue you don`t take it bad
blue mountains seem serious and sad
to the cloud high and wild and glad
I`m looking up to be sure
found something pure

talk of flaws can`t darken my day
seen too much of this world to say 
there`s no sand in a pearl
pure that`s my girl

your creed`s like the dandelion seed
no denying your smiles spread like weeds
on this wasteland you saw the need
I`m looking up to be sure
found something pure


talk of flaws can`t darken my day
I`ve seen too much of this world to say 
there`s no sand in a pearl
pure that`s my girl
pure that`s my girl

© Robert Cordrey  Aug. 2020

Pure

The Man Who Stole The World

there are angels over the arctic
sea monsters swim the margins
a fire breathing horse
gallops the globe
on the first map he stole

Mr Bland the book bandit
tearing pages from the atlas of ages
when the world was still young
hurries them home
to see pygmies at the North Pole

did you find the land you`re looking for
the one Capernicus unfurled
do you like the poster wanting you
the man who stole the world
the man who stole the world


from Yale to Harvard and Chicago
he`s the scholar looking over his shoulder
disguised as a priest
cartomaniac in the stacks
the librarians enemy

Theatrum Orbis Terrarum
the aroma of antique paper
when science was an art
or was it the cash
gave maps such ecstasy

did you find the land you`re looking for
the one Magellan unfurled
will you like cell waiting for you
the man who stole the world
the man who stole the world


© Robert Cordrey Dec. 2020

The Man Who Stole The World

Another Name For The Moon

lantern moon lonely moon
once human face
we wait `til you rise in the water
whisper one word to keep a child safe
always and today
watch over our newborn daughter

high crying loon sends shivers
down the sky
her eyes follow so old so young
what should we name this quiet girl
framing the stars
with her tiny finger and thumb

soon soon the canoes will come
greet our wide eye daughter
choose choose say the paddle and drum
another name for the moon
shining in silent water

jump ever higher
grab fistfuls of cloud
dive deep hear the song of the fishes
laughter and stories old and strange
as the once human face
we ask now to grant all your wishes

soon soon the canoes will come
greet a wide eye daughter
choose choose say the paddle and drum
another name for the moon
shining in silent water
choose choose say the paddle and drum
another name for the moon
shining in silent water

© Robert Cordrey  Jan. 2019

Another Name For The Moon

2 Bit Mystic is a singer/songwriter from Canada.
My influences are folk, americana and psychedelic rock.
I collaborate with with ScottC on our band project Spirit Level.
https://soundcloud.com/spiritlevel-ca

2 Bit Mystic

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