New year, new projects. Near the end of last year, John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats released the annotated lyric book This Year β A Book of Days. Their music has accompanied me for a large part of my life and I thought it would be a fun project to work my way through this book of days (one song for every day of the year) as a daily writing exercise for poetry. So here it goes.
My music recommendation for today is Alphabetizing by the Mountain Goats
Between W and Y
Winter slouched, bent over and broken.
I stood in the old house,
with the last token
you gave me turning in my hand.
I hope we’re both reborn
in a better, warmer land.
Until those days come
I am stuck here.
In this empty house
with dead plants on the balcony.
I raise my eyes up to you
wherever you might be
and pray to what may listen
that you will one day
turn my way to see.
Until those days come
I am stuck here.
In this empty house
with dead plants on the balcony.