1. |
Coat of Many Colors
03:20
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I found on the dump
a coat of many colors
and put it on.
I shrieked with happiness
and whirled around
for a long time.
To show myself off
to people and starts in the sky
is my wish now.
And as I walk the streets,
to see my reflection in shop windows
full of miserable novelties.
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2. |
Rabbit
01:04
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A man once lost his mind
and because of him – many others did.
He bolted over a stubble field into the wide world,
far from his madmen,
he could no longer stand.
In a dark forest, alone at last,
He sat on a stump and started to think.
The devil snuck behind him, tapped him
on his head, spat in his ear.
The man spun around, saw no one,
only a rabbit dash across a clearing.
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3. |
A Bird Started to Sing
01:34
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A bird started to sing
on a clear day
over the gallows
A branch stirred
in a small grove
next to a smoldering fire
A stream babbled
over the bodies
of the ones struck down
Wind lifted the ashes
and spread them
over other ashes
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4. |
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5. |
Ten Fingers
02:50
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In dead silence, in prayer,
you crossed on your forehead
ten fingers for your ten sins
At a table made of wood
far from everything
in a cottage next to a lake
with fat swans.
Once you were young,
hale and handsome criminal.
You talked like a crazy man,
did crazy things.
Time races on, bearing you along
toward your last
wretched breath.
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6. |
Straight Jacket
00:46
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A straitjacket
is being woven
and cut to measure
on you.
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7. |
Out of Some Old Thing
02:21
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Out of some old thing
(a hideous ruin of a building)
people peek outside
They slap their heads,
chatter, stick their tongues out
Twist their mouths
in every direction
Blink, make
moaning sounds
And move their ears
like dry ivy leaves.
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8. |
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9. |
You Are Mighty
02:52
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You are all-powerful, you are a giant.
No mother gave you birth.
Every street is too narrow for you.
You pull back your shoulders, burn holes with your eyes.
Everyone gets out of your way.
The beggar’s wealth, a dish full of small coins,
you spilled on the sidewalk – damn you!
If someone were to bring nails to a human body
you’d be the one swinging the hammer,
ripping out the flesh with pliers.
Today you are here among us,
tomorrow you’ll be somewhere else.
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10. |
Armful of Twigs, Dream
01:43
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Armful of dry twigs
I carry to the fire
through busy streets.
I can’t see the stake,
don’t know who is being
brunt alive or why.
Flames rise and the glow
beyond the ecstatic crowd
singing, shouting and firing guns.
(This dream, I am not
bound to forget.)
Don’t sway like that, O my curtain.
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11. |
Dark Things
02:30
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Dark things open my eyes,
raise my hand, knot my fingers.
They are close and far away,
in a safe hideaway
beyond nine hills.
Night is their kingdom,
and this day, just breaking,
is their cloak of light.
No force can revoke them,
untangle them, explain them.
They stay where they are,
in our breasts,
stirring in our hearts.
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12. |
Instrumental: The Party
00:52
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13. |
Sheepskin Coat
01:46
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Winter, Strangers came and took my sheepskin coat.
Now, what will I cover myself with?
Only with prayers and with the light, trembling wings of a moth.
With so many thoughts and feelings, let my mind drift.
My name has been blackened; it opens; it whispers.
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14. |
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Someone whispered to me in a dream
that on this Earth, there’ll be no
more water, only blood.
We’ll drink each other’s blood
as we have always done
and won’t dream of it anymore.
Over dried out springs,
bones of dead animals and last humans
will pile up.
Young hyenas with our faces
will titter and fight
around their gnawed and dry remains.
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15. |
Book, Dream
01:58
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On a low chair, the book
opened by itself.
A gust of air blew –
it was the Lord’s breath.
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John W. Snyder Los Angeles, California
John W. Snyder is a composer and pianist in Los Angeles.
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