1. |
solstice
01:31
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“The bird would cease and be as other birds
But that he knows in singing not to sing.
The question that he frames in all but words
Is what to make of a diminished thing.”
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2. |
the wreckage
04:45
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Wandering the winter wasteland in the snow
Stillness and shadows chill me to the bone
Cradling a wineglass’ shattered shape in hands
I come across the ruins of my homeland
I saw you sitting quietly in the midst of the remains
With hands I saw were wounded, you motioned me to stay
We sat there in the silence until you spoke to ask
About the burden that I carried, the bloody shards of glass
I’ve been trying to hold it all together
‘Cause I don’t know what else that I can do
You asked me for the wreckage: my lacerated hands
And the fragile load they carried, the weight of its demand
I told you “I’m afraid to, it’s all that I have left”
I looked into your eyes then; to my surprise, you wept; you said,
“You’ve been trying to hold it all together
Because you didn’t know what else to do
You don’t need to hold it all together
But you won’t like what you will need to do”
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3. |
surgery
04:25
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It’s been a year that I’ll remember
When I look down at my hands
Surgery is in season
Cauterizing is the plan
I think I’m ready to be good now
So make the healing quick for me
Let grief tarry for the evening
But haste the morning with its peace
Unplug my fingers from the levee
Let emotion flood my face
But the weight is far too heavy
Dam it, I can't take the wave
Profoundly sad but I can’t weep yet
Profoundly numb but I won’t die
Profoundly tired and I won’t lie to ya
It’s been a year I won’t forget
You put me under anesthesia
Knew I couldn’t take the pain
Laid me down upon the table
Wounded healer tend my frame
With the purifying flame
With the light in darkness flame
Don’t want to leave the way I came
No, I won’t leave the way I came
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4. |
unless a seed
02:35
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Do you know where I am going
‘Cause I’m not quite sure myself
Opened the door and wandered through it
I hear there’s healing out here
In the wilderness with God
But it feels like operation
Lie in stillness on the table
That is all there is to this
You will wake up when you’re able
But first you have to die
You’ve been holding on to ruins
Like a seed within a shell
To come to life you must be buried
Begone coping mechanisms
Begone lies that I believed
Let the sun shine on this sprung up life from buried seed
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5. |
images
03:45
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It’s been winter for two years now
And I find in me unrest
I know grass grows beneath the snow
But nothing’s showing for it yet
I guess I thought
The ice, the rot
Would be by now
A garden plot
But it seems that I was wrong
My head buried in your shoulder
And you tell me I’m okay
There’s a stillness in the silence
That I shouldn’t wish away
An empty tomb
A chrysalis
No shortage in terms
Of images
But will you make it come true?
Will you make it true?
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6. |
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There is a beacon
A lighthouse that’s broken
That stands on the point
In the bay
It promises harbor
To all those who wander
But its rock-strewn shore
Is unsafe
They train up good sailors
To warn of the dangers
Of monsters that traverse the deep
But they fail to make sure
That once you reach their shore
The wayward are greeted with peace
There was a sailor
Who entered the shadowy
Wasteland that stretched
From the beach
The shipman looked down
In the boat he was sailing
And noticed that
There was a leak
So he stepped from the boat
And stayed strangely afloat
As he walked on the water to seek
All the lost and endangered
The outcast and stranger
And taught them to stand on the sea
When the sailor returned
From his journey they heard
All his ragged and rough company
The beacon was dim
Didn’t recognize him
And they banished them all to the deep
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7. |
gerasene
05:15
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I’ve been fighting myself
Hypochondriatic spells
Feeling paranoia
Altogether unwell
I've been hiding myself
In the tombs is where I dwell
Weighed down by my chains
But they fit me so well
Give me space
Keep yourself safe
If you get too close
I might push you away
Yeah keep me safe
Give yourself space
If you get too close
You might want to embrace
My hiding is hiding
My deepest desire
For you to come and find me
And call out the liar
Could you find me
Inside this shell?
I’m a shattered glass
Could you make me well?
Yeah, could you find me
In the depths of hell?
Could you heal me
And make me well?
You came and found me
Came to the tomb where I dwell
Shone a torch into the darkness
Took my hand and you said “all will be well”
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8. |
north of boston
03:30
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I used to listen to
Spring peepers in the night
Announcing the season changing
As the days grew bright
They used to keep me up
Their frantic chorus drone
ּBut now that I’ve grown up
It just sounds like home
I live on a city street
Where cars outnumber creatures
Still you can mark the time
By spring’s distinctive features:
Birdsongs in the morning
Sunset’s golden fingers
Reflecting off a high-rise
Warmth begins to linger
I’m longing for signs of life;
Though you owe me no reason,
Just prove that my wasteland days
Are not a wasted season
Are buds showing on the branches of my life?
Can you hear the peepers sing?
How will I know when my time has come?
How will I know if it’s my time yet?
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9. |
equinox
03:26
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The dove,
Hovering above
The frozen flood,
Baptizing the wasteland,
Melting into streams,
Precipitates the spring—
The earth greens under the wait.
The dove
With banner in beak
Proclaims new life from once-dead seed
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10. |
thou art with me
03:43
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Sometimes
Oh, sometimes
It feels like surgery
Un-ethered
Like I’m at the mercy—
Yea, even though I lie down
Under the scalpel
Under the shepherd’s staff,
You are faithful
My infection to uproot.
Sometimes
Oh, sometimes
It feels like pastures
Untethered
And at peace—
Yea, even though I lie down
By still waters
I’m prone to wander,
But you are faithful
My shepherd to reroute.
Thou art with me
Good surgeon of my soul
Good shepherd of my soul
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Schuyler Kitchin Boston, Massachusetts
Cambridge, MA // 'Pulling from a wide range of musical influences, Schuyler’s indie sound pairs acoustic singer-songwriter & folk sounds with electronic & rock elements. At the core of his songs are the vulnerability of his lyrics, flowing from his reflections on the experience of finding light within the shadows.' - Immensity Records ... more
Schuyler Kitchin recommends:
(I Am) Origami Pt. 4 - Marathon Daze
by John Van Deusen
This album is incredibly good and timely and I love it and so can you.
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