Bark And Feathers

The sun is drawing lines in the morning
All through the dust that floats in between
The rooms of every house I have lived in
And the gold light lets me see there are no leaves left up in the aspens
And every sail is tied to a mast
The winter wind has nothing to boast with
So the lake shore laps so silent that we hear our breath when we're walking
And we can feel our noses turn red
In shallow water, we see reflections

Oh, the January sunset turns the ripples pink on their faces
But on their backs, they're painted in black
I see both sides, from here I can taste them
Rich and full with what I have and what I lack

The sun comes carefully with the morning
The forest floor waits patient for light
It will expose the bones without warning
They were covered up all night with snow
That's melting down from the long boughs
The fingers of the pines are relieved
The branches bend back where they belong now
They have stretched but they're not worried

Every tree has wounds from the winter
We shed our needles under our feet
Nobody ever judges a victim
So our warm breath scribbles secrets in the frosty air that surrounds us
They whisper white and then disappear
Against the lights of luxury houses
Honest words throw sparks at fear but blow it out
As soon
As fire shows, so

Don't you blush, manzanita
The cold exposure will free us
Let's peel our bark off together
And dress our wounds with the feathers
That fall from each other