Blurry Shadows of Vultures Road

Near-sighted and full of contradictions
Walking with swollen and indifferent eyes
Fistful of indecisions, pocketful of directions
Hold me close Iike your scatterbrained lies
Hide me like your exponential excuses
Dress me in your long-winded fabrications
Wrap me up in your pretty dirty honey
I’ve memorized your pale footsteps
I’ve seen your skeletons in your anthem
Rewind the dialogue, call the kingfisher

The pavement twists where it could be straight
The pavement buckles and twists your ankle
The pavement cracks under the extra weight
The pavement skins knees but only reacts
The pavement takes you only so far, then ends

Stuck between an inquisition and a crooked escape
Parading with goosebumps and a bitter chill
Empathy falls from my callous hands
Hold me close like your hollow promises
Hide me like your first prize embarrassment
Misguide me into your elastic arms
Submerged in your jagged distortions
I’ve recalled your camouflaged voice
I’ve recognized your marrow seeping in
Rewind the paragraphs, call the swallow

The concrete bakes in the heat, feels nothing
The concrete appears smooth yet you trip
The concrete leads the way to the playground
The concrete requires hard work to repair
The concrete crumbles away as time wears on

Far-sighted with my lips draped in turmoil
A stranger’s melted kiss burned me
Sympathy tip-toed around my wounds
Hold me like a hand-me-down doll
Hide me like your pieces of authenticity
Comfort me in your barb wire veracity
Suffering in this wilted perception
I’ve stared in to your state of reflux
I’ve caressed your turbulent winds
Rewind the repetition, call the buzzard

The street crumbles away at the edges
The street says ‘one-way’ but has two lanes
The street leads away from a gravel track
The street is covered in spiderweb cracks
The street ends abruptly with no warning

Cemented between third degrees and a ridged disappearance
Stumbling with frostbite and torn band-aids
Fears dripping down my faint cheek
Hold me like the sunrise clutches to the dark
Hold me like pieces of dirt in the crying breeze
Surround me with your crimson spit
Tortured in this war of debilitating senses
I’ve witnessed the clouded indifference
I’ve recognized the discombobulation
Rewind the paraphrases, call the queen of the vultures

The asphalt crosses rivers and divides
The asphalt meanders yet ends up nowhere
The asphalt sags under ruts from constant use
The asphalt carries liars and saints and dogs
And the asphalt bears a journey, never a destination

Braeden Michaels + tara caribou | ©2020

With this collaboration with Braeden, I attempted to write in his distinctive style. We think it turned out pretty good, as you can’t tell who wrote what! Quite a stretching experience.