From a place of privilege he pulpits pristine images
Oysters spitting sea salt, rolling thunder blowing reeds across
All in the wind again
To watch a crab peekaboo with you and fish jump in schools
Is to fall in love with ocean life, devotion over shallow pools
To body roll in gentle waves
Stick deep hands into sand to pull up jewels
Then pray
For meat hidden in the middle
Then into the pot, never too hot, simmerin'
Family and ocean spray all in the wind again
Often in baked clams found on your own land one finds pearls
Free for pondering, wandering, wondering
where are all the other boys and girls?
But surely the irony isn't lost on me
And no matter how beautiful the beach
Dried out feet on white sand coated in sea salt
Scrape like a chalkboard, erasing the mailman
Setting your teeth on edge as you smile
Whatever message was there was wiped away in denial
In due time well
Delivered in all white enamel bright like a bleach stain
Where it stands still
Hope that the golf cart under drunken hearts handles
Houses coat the white island black
Reflect what we made
Like a tin can
Kick the shiny bill down the beach, man
Shingles and asphalt
Rework the dunes into bad salt
Despite the fact that it always changes
From a distance, we call the beach land
Let me back up, in case you don't know
Not a mile off the shore you will find a new and hostile world
Strange alien figures snap with pincers
the tide and wind fight against you
A short stumble might cut your hand to ribbons in an instant
And if you lose the thin shield under your feet
In just a few minutes you will not be able to breathe
That is the world we inhabit
If you've never been among its beauty you will never understand it
And yet just a quick paddle away from pure helplessness
Is a wealth and class battalion hoarding lessons on life's preciousness
Why do soft people seek harsh landscapes?
But who am I to talk from my back deck, sipping the sunset and eating pancakes
Ooo ooo wait, there is music in the kitchen
Run and grab the neighbors
Run and bundle up the children
Crack a beer
Pour the wine
Shake a cocktail with some brine
Who has time to be class conscious when we're doing so fine
True fun
Hold a maraschino cherry overtop the sinking sun
call that shit eclipsed by a virgin
Right?
Anathema is a confusing word
And half the fun is diffusing the herd
This is a sacred place where we learn what life makes
And yet we use it as a landfill for stale crackers and birds
Boy do I feel funny spending summers at a beach house
To hate the place that once kept you sane
Can make you freak out
The luxury that abates the pain
Sure makes a closed mouth
But knowing that you can't give the same
Well would you speak out?
Captivated by the sensation water makes
The irritants set in late
Flip flops start to rub two ways
Sun turns red on pale face
Dried out and exhausted
Too busy laughing, drinking, and basking
To feel that paradise is haunted
By what isn't there
By who isn't there
But the houses just get bigger in spades
From that demand
Ancient prehistoric sand is naturally washed away
but gets unnaturally replaced
Call up the man
Once upon this island shore would make waves
Now it just deep ends
Feeding endlessly into the people that erase
We call that “the end”
So I stand here under moonlight on this oh so black beach
The infinity of the sky and the sea kissing cheeks
A silence so loud that I could scream, that I could sing
It is so powerful it feels like the solution to everything
And yet the fact that it's defiled by those who don't appreciate it
Makes me wish the ocean would rise and wash away bliss
But the truth is I just wish that you kids
Could get lost here where the void is
And feel your problems float away like it's
All in the wind again
Our natural places keep us sane
They make us small and remind us how precious it is to be safe
I hate that I hate the place that fills me with love
Anathema, ever after, god above
But I hope that one day where the horizon line makes the blues meet
Ocean spray and families sway, oyster shucking our souls complete
Geographically it doesn't matter but naturally and spiritually replete
Despite the avarice, the destruction, the greed, we’ll be
Gentle human spirits touching, we'll greet like breeze blown friends
All in the wind again