the bell harbours earth-scents harboured in waves.

a clang, a shriek, a gaze. it is all drama as it is all words,

only pages now, heavy or light.

a Doomed chamber mocks the motivated hand,

Backbone of whale hear me, the hull of the ship is calls quietly, quietly.

a person furled, wavering at the edges, air leaves as it enters, hinges catch.

vacant now are the dancers beneath the hills,

and the axis it is fixed here, and the oceans they are children laughing,

and all the movement is movement the same.

hold out your hand, now, I cannot bear it all forever

(to speak now is to wrench mist from air)

‘the circulation of the lymph is figured in the drift of stars’

I miss him, leaning archer of the wood, toe dashed upon a felled hound; he howled.

And the axis it is fixed here, and the oceans they are children laughing,

and a small one is amused,

but these are just words now, hold my hand, still, still.

these are just words now.

apathetic orb lingers in the wood, sulking.

and I must mourn now, and wrench mist from air,

in this song I feel my life-force in rhythm moving.

quick, quick, feel it. You are a person furled as pages,

folded at points, left unopened by some great architect,

vacant in a Cathedral downstairs. Where we,

as children, pilgramaged once. I do not remember much

but the buildings gathered as fabric around us, and the swelling

of feeling, shot from countryside hours into a place, with place things around.

down in the Beneath Cathedral we sung to test acoustics, we heard of the old pilgrims,

inadequacy of connection, I recognise you now in the whalesong halls.

tragedy - you hurried through its halls to the other place, crying,

the choirsong carried through; now vacant are the dancers beneath the hills.

it all is figured in the drift of stars so hold, hold, it is too much for me now.

the lace patterns, the Turkish rug, the kitschy 60s plate, they are all movement,

it is not its fault - forgive it as you would everything,

understand it, it all, hurriedly gathered as the fabric of buildings we saw,

and move, head hung, along.