I
And she'll make finger paintings
in my eyes and in my mind
trace the lines of my love with her breath
and then she'll draw the blinds
I press my face against the window
of the chamber where she entertained him
how he serenaded her
on admiration's violin
I came running down the hall
stumbled stopped until I fell
I saw his figure dark and tall
and he cracked this oyster's shell
I went whining to my cage
and they danced out to the hill
where he lies atop her in his rage
because he knows she loves me still
And she will reap the blossoms
of our sin where he sowed the seeds
out on the hilltop
but there's nothing there but glass and broken weeds
which cut her brittle feet
like the cuts he made upon her heart
and she'll come crawling back to me
bloody-kneed we'll pray in the dark
La da la da da da da da
she'll sing notes all ringing clear
from out her vacancies and thoughts
echoing from ear to ear
and I will cry beneath the bed
of my intolerable shame
where she will lie for ever more
the girl of all names
IV
And so it would pass that she would grow up like her mother
drinking bourbon in the living room in an orange slicker
and she would feed the feral cats and coax them in out of the rain
And I always wondered if she would just be another
piece in a sculpture gallery of teenage mothers
she would relinquish her life but never your dreams
And she baths in the market square
plays with the children there
tells their fortunes for a coin
and they leave with their bellies full
saying she's beautiful
that old lady with no brains
what's her name
And at the liquor store she's known as Viola
and down at the asylum they call her sweet Delila
but only when she's atop the highrise out in the pouring rain
smelling tomorrow's bread from the Swedish bakery
and hearing down below her the crying of a baby
can she throw her head back howl in her anger and her pain
And she lets her eyes go slack
feels the patter pat
on her forehead in the drain
and they see her rising higher
bleeding the rooftop wire
like some prophet of the rain
crying what's a name
you are all the same
and I will quench all your flames
for I am of all and no names
Stirring alt-pop with a focus on heartrending vocal melodies, the new LP from Nicholas is riveting from start to finish. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 10, 2023
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