Upon stepping out of the aeroplane, it was an instant love. It was an instance where that first footfall had me swallowed up into this infinite land--a frontier final--and in September there still shone so much sun. It was an endless dawn. (An endless dawn). On first drawing breath from the mountain air there was a cleansing of my spirit & my lungs and when I exhaled I imagined my exultation taking to the sky to join the Northern Lights. It's not that i can speak for everyone: the gold rush now is over (&) the wolves have won. I'm standing at the runway waiting for my ride to come.

we arrived travelling different roads but we all took the same exit it brought us here to the middle of nowhere cause nowhere is where we're wanted and the roads merged and bled into the water so we ferried across it past the shipwrecks to the campsite with the stone-ringed the fire pit where someone lit a match where there a spark where we ignited just before dark we were just like a brush fire dancing and dangerous all of us like a brush fire so energetic; aimless on the grill: carrots, broccoli, & tofu in our hands: wine and cigarettes the smoke rose into a sky so dark you could see distant satellites were caught up in their hi-beams: when the sky exploded with fireweed and emerald green of juniper nettles slicing through the crisp air like someone lit a match for there surely was a spark yes, something ignited there in the dark and it was just like a brush fire dancing and dangerous everything like a brush fire so energetic; aimless and the match was lit and our eyes were opened and there were sparks in our muscle tissues we were like a brush fire dancing and dangerous all of us so much like a brush fire so energetic; aimless like a brush fire like a brush fire.

i've been in such a dark place but now the light is there literally staring me in the face it's coming round the corner at a hundred miles an hour sneaking round the edges shining like a signal tower from outer space the car stereo went silent and all of us stopped breathing for a heartbeat and i let my foot off of the gas pedal and just felt us coast felt the pavement through the rubber tires felt a shiver run up my spine and there was a gridiron of light up in the sky it was as big as a football field and it was spinning and in that first moment none of us could believe our eyes but none of us could say it none of us would say it

morning; the light is young our bodies young dawning realization: our souls are old our hearts are frozen and they will stay frozen while the ground does thaw and they will stay cold while the ice does melt around us but winter turning to spring won't change us won't rearrange the pieces of our hearts they'll stay cold and pure and we won't lose our heads the town this town won't change us the wind will not shake at the cabin door our hearts trapped inside with the stale air freezing our limbs in place we succumb to stasis hardening our hearts to stone if only glaciers would take their place because i wish i were more like the ice breaking off into the fresh sunlight stealing more than a glimpse in the ocean's eyes becoming tears in the ocean's eyes becoming in the new sunrise, at the dawn of spring becoming the mountain stream becoming ice again becoming til the winter's end becoming until the spring comes back around and the circle starts again and always becoming.

washing down vitamin d pills with beer swill from the dimly lit hotel bar i've got a flask in my breast pocket for refills when the 3 am last call cries i know i will see the sunrise again but right now i can't believe it i fell asleep in the graveyard my back on the hard ground the soft snow made a sound when i fell on it in my parka the wolves howled and my loneliness abounded i know i will wake up somewhere warm soon but right now i can't believe it so what do you need so what do you need to get thru? tea and whiskey and fine tuning of your heart strings in an open key in the people's key

come home in the evening while the sun’s still high and the spring rain runs rivulets down the alaska highway o my old mountain home may the weeds and fungi prosper in the garden crack open a pilsner it’s time to rip the plastic off of the windows & draw em wide let the breath of the new season find ever crevice in the house o my old mountain home may the thoughts we left in the snowbanks stay buried down it’ll be like old times, before the fall set in sittin round the firepit, drinkin late with friends we'll pass the spliffs, we'll shoot the shit about the coming summer the roof is rotting and starting to sag from the snowfall last winter there's lots to be jaded about: cracks in the windows, fresh scars to heal o my old mountain home may we not forget the reasons we were drawn here

do you want to fall in love or are you trying to break your own heart? sometimes it’s hard to know the difference do you want to take it slow or are you trying to let it fizzle out? time is a candle and it’s melting down o i’ve got a feeling that there’s a spark between our flint and tinder hearts your house is on fire but i might hang around build something up on that charred ground do you want to get together or do you want to get out of this town? how hard would it be for you to just up and leave now? do you think this is a good idea or are you hoping i will change your mind stray dog on the highway i can't read the signs at the edges of this four cornered night there’s more than just comets taking flight all your lovers are leaving but i just might stick around; try to breathe new life into this ghost town

8 blocks away is all that it takes to pass by this place 8 miles away from the county line 800 lives is all you gotta take away to make this a ghost town 800 souls clinging on to the land if you think that you can fuck around then you thought wrong in a town this small we’ll all learn what we’re capable of 8 hours a day at minimum wage is not enough to escape not when your gash cash is ate up by the bar tab by 80 degrees heats up this room when you walk inside 80 new arguments form in my mind like: if you think that you can fuck around then you thought wrong in a town this small we’ll all learn what we’re capable of

spark the burner on the old gas stove lettuce leaves beyond the window in the sunlight glow put the kettle on the coffee pour out a bowl of instant oats i need fibre in my belly this old train needs its coal my pullman cars are empty as i pull away from you got a destination printed on my ticket but losing it has crossed my mind there's plenty of good fortune coming down the line just make it through breakfast pay it no mind drink the last tetra pak there'll be no turning back use up all the maple syrup in the fridge keep a close eye on the time as mind and watch unwind thought i saw you in the sink but it was just bubbles in disguise my heart is a sponge and i must wring out your love my nerves are a dish rag all warn out and frayed time is a good seamstress she'll stitch us both back up for now just focus on maps and distance maps and distance the final dishes have been done 'til the new tenants come around and all the shit that i don't need i left in boxes by the street but what's it matter when all I want is you? but i must me leaving before fall and winter come to call and i put on my coat and walk out the trailer move your boots from place to place even if leaving breaks your heart just find new ways to feed the hunger can't help but smile as i walk into the light so here's to love and here's to breakfast

i need to clean up i need to dry out i need to walk off all my fears and doubts i need a long drive with little to think about just staring out the window watching it all come down life can get so heavy sometimes it weighs you down leaves you by the roadside shaking like a lost flightless bird who still remembers those last few seconds before the car tires’ swerved in the wrong direction i need to clean up i need to dry out on the line i need to walk off the wounds on my body and mind i need a long while just sittin’ round thinkin’ ‘bout everything that came between us how did it all go down? cause i’ve been overcast i’ve been caught out of love i’ve been scratched right off of the map i should be seeing someone who warms my bed in a different way than i’m used to someone who warms my bed in a different way than you used to i’ve been overcast i’ve been caught out of love i’ve been blown off of the map i should be seeing someone new

we left something behind back there in the foothills, up in the pines in the pines, in the pines in the darkest corners of our minds let’s load up backpacks get our gear all in line we’ll leave only memories of asphalt behind for the pines for the pines for the darkest corners of our minds (we’re all running we’re all running) we’re all running from something we’ve all got our reasons to burrow under the ground when the sun hides in winter where the bones of the caribou will be buried down in cold december once the trees have traded their leaves for their snowy shrouds let us become hunters let the wolves that roam the tundra know our howls we’re all some kind of feral we all get that animal feeling when pawing the ground where the instinct lies dreaming where the words of our ancestors whisper with every sound at summer solstice where the sun and the moon make twin jewels for the mountain’s crown let’s give ourselves to the forest where the heartbeat of nothing and everything can be found

may there be plenty of people to sit round your table when you’re old plenty of glasses clinking and stories to sing and when it comes the time to go clear off the desert forks hope you’ll sit down with me over a pot of tea what will be the last thought when you close your eyes goodnight may it be the best damn thought you’ve had all day and when it comes the time to go make the bed come morning may there be poetry in every linen crease may there be plenty of seagulls circling the shoreline when you float on may the lighthouse beams shine on all in sight and when it comes the time to drift off from the moorings may the stars in the sky guide your sails tonight what will be the last thought running through your head may it be the best damn thought you’ve ever had and when it comes the time for us to pass around the prayer books may there be poetry in every line we read