A dizzy chain—events connect
The common thread bare—I was there!
A vastening storehouse, encompassing rows of
a shifting perspective on mundane affairs all across time
An expansion of spaces I saw linked together
Attachments collapsing into one another
A spreading compendium
The hills that eroded, the people that went
Electrons corroded, the moments we spent—
I’m keeping it all because:
Chorus
I folded it up as a quilt that I keep
in a trunk at the foot of my bed
It doesn’t all fit!
I folded it up as a patchwork quilt
of tiles time tested—it keeps me warm
I folded it up in an envelope
that envelops the world of my past—
it’s paper-sheet-thin!
I folded it up as a long love letter
I’d be sending to you but for postage due
There’s still a chance it might turn back!
There’s still a chance I might go back!
A bubble foam alight with vapor
Things that happened—now, again!
A sandwiching storage of pictures and narratives
from my own history frozen in colored glass
in my mind!
The “I”s that I was all at once, if I choose
A diffusing dust cloud that won’t blow away
But if I reach for a particle it slips—
only in my eyes!
A palette of paints I collected one at a time
I could use every color but they’re already dried!
An achingly huge vault of treasures I touched once
protected behind an unbreakable window
My first glimpse of magic, my last gasp of purity
The taste of a new fruit, the hottest wet pleasure I ever felt—
all here, but a whole lot of good it’s doing me right now because:
Chorus
There’s still a chance it might turn back!
There’s still a chance I might go back!
credits
from Paraprosdokian!,
released December 17, 2013
Elliot Knapp - Larrivée D-03R, Gibson Firebird and CS-336, Fender Bass VI, Moog synthesizer, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, vocals.
Tim Arnold's latest album of lushly detailed art-pop explores the insidious ways tech surveillance has become a part of our lives. Bandcamp New & Notable May 9, 2023