If You Forget Me

If You Forget Me

I want you to know one thing
You know how this is
If I look at the crystal moon
At the red branch of the slow autumn at my window

If I touch near the fire the impalpable ash
Or the wrinkled body of the log
Everything carries me to you
As if everything that exists – aromas, light, metals
Were little boats that sail toward those isles of yours that wait for me

Well, now
If little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you
Little by little
If suddenly you forget me
Do not look for me
For I shall already have forgotten you

If you think it long and mad the wind of banners that passes through my life
And you decide to leave me at the shore of the heart where I have roots
Remember
That on that day, at that hour, I shall lift my arms
And my roots will set off to seek another land

But, if each day, each hour, you feel that you are destined for me
With implacable sweetness
If each day a flower climbs up to your lips to seek me
Ahh my love, ahh my own, in me all that fire is repeated
In me nothing is extinguished or forgotten
My love feeds on your love, beloved
And as long as you live, it will be in your arms without leaving mine

-Pablo Neruda

Amy

Before you, I thought my life was my choice
And the people I knew were brought by me
But then you came that May Day
Unlooked for and unbidden
Like a candle lit as if by itself
A firecracker exploding without fuse
A sunrise springing into the night sky.

You came by a design not my own
A gift from love itself
That immediately changed everything
As the light of you warmed my skin
And your elevens made me live again
And you lit up my life with your eyes
I began to learn again who I was.

I know it now and I see you Babyship.
You are my freely given gift
That I purchase each day
The way I know the world has purpose
And the stars move in their dance
Sending star stuff drifting down
And I lie close to you, brushing it from your hair.

For Michelle

If it’s true that time is the longest distance
between two places, then I have been seeking
you across a vast and endless wilderness,
fearing that, even if I could find you and touch you
I could never hold you in my hands, and you would
slip through my fingers like water, like you had before,
when, not being able to see better or look harder
or be braver, I lost you. Like you were never there.
Just a memory, a ghost or breath of air.

And yet, after so long waiting, and watching
the flowing of time and events and people between us,
pushing us further and further from each other,
and you receding into the distance little by little,
getting smaller until at last I could not even see you
or dare to hope to find you, you were there.
Again, within reach of my arms, you were there.
And we were us like we were before, and
I could touch you again and I felt whole.

Just the taste of you that once, for that instant,
made it seem possible that I could hold you again,
and somehow it was possible, and now we are as close
as I could ever dare hope, measured in inches, feet, yards.
I am right here. You are right there, 87th star to the right
just out my window. I reach for you daily now,
but I touch only air, and the gulf of time flows between us.
My green light at the end of the dock, I can only watch
and wait, looking at you, beyond my reach, shining in the dark.

Spring Concerts: Augustana and Band of Skulls

Pretty much the only two reasons to be inside in the spring just happened in Salt Lake City the last couple of weeks. Augustana and Band of Skulls both showed up in town for much-needed reappearances. These are two of my favorite bands, as is readily apparent to anyone who has read much of my previous concert reviews, so I’ll spare you the repetition of why they are two of the greatest bands ever and just get straight to the facts: If you don’t go see these bands you are a moron.

Brightly Beams

Here is another version of one of my favorite hymns:

Brightly Beams Our Fathers Mercy A Cappella from Jamez on Vimeo.

The Lower Lights: A Hymn Revival Volume 2

The Lower Lights // I Saw The Light from The Lower Lights on Vimeo.

The Lower Lights is a group of amazing musicians and performers who have taken it upon themselves to rework some of our hymns in a style that is newer and somewhat less, well, churchy and starchy than we may be used to. The style of their albums is folky and bluegrassy, yet still spiritual and perhaps even more meaningful than the original arrangement, at least to some. We’ve talked about them before, when their first album came out. I’m happy to let you know that their second volume of hymns came out last month, and even happier to tell you that it’s even better than volume 1 (which is saying something).

Kenzieisms

My daughter Kenzie has a unique perspective on life. Sometimes she gives us a glimpse of this perspective by telling us part of her philosophy of life. These golden nuggets of wisdom are called Kenzieisms. Here is one:

Two interesting things never happen on a day that it rains.

Discuss.

Kony 2012

New Music: Band of Skulls – “Sweet Sour”

Band of Skulls has been one of my top five favorite bands since their debut, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey discussed here, and they are also in my top three of bands to see live (discussed here). So you can imagine that I have been awaiting their sophomore album with great anticipation. Sophomore albums being what they are, however, I have tried to keep my expectations in check.

I Don’t Want To Go To Heaven If I Can’t Get In

The title of this post comes from a recently released single, called “Heaven” by the band O.A.R. (which apparently stands for “Of A Revolution”).

This is not a band I follow much, so I’m not very familiar with their other work, but I like a lot of what I have heard of their music. This particular track, the first single of the bands album King which was released this year, caught my attention partly because it’s a catchy tune and has been getting some radio play, but mostly because of the lyrics.

Of course, it’s just a dumb pop song in some ways, but it resonates with some people and is causing some small stir in the Christian community, partly because it captures, in a very articulate and pithy way, a view that is very widespread in our culture and is the reason, I believe, why many people want nothing to do with any organized religion, including ours. That view is that religion pitches heaven (the ultimate goal of existence) as a kind of exclusive country club, and the kind of person you are is really not welcome there.