Happy four months on planet earth!
You’ve gone a long way and so have we
The winds of change are among us
Your mama is in the bathtub washing you
And we’ve said our morning prayers
And set our intentions for the day.
We are unified on our mission to survive
And we have only a month or so left of our life living in Brooklyn
So much of my life living in this city
Almost all of the adult portion
The funny veins and avenues carrying you
To a million and one adventures
That move seamlessly through into the day
Into the night back into the day
How many times did I leave my house on a bike in the afternoon only to come back three days later with a story to tell my motionless walls
Back then my ideal would have been a giant loft in soho
Or even a brownstone in brooklyn
I could have never imagined picking someplace remote over the city teaming with energy and excitement
But now both me and your mama are thrilled to get out
The peace we feel upstate in the mountains is unparalleled
Our bodies relax are brains unwind and seemingly detach from overwhelming electrical current
And it makes sense whether or not you believe amped up cell phone towers are a weapon against humanity or just connections for faster downloads
The end result is similar
More electric activity spinning through the air
And engulfing us as we move through the stations of this life buzzing.
(Or to put it another way it ain’t good for you)
That’s one part of it.
It’s not vague. You can feel it
A kind of letting go
Like you’re being released from a tension
Up there we walked for miles
Everyday for miles
Surrounded by trees and snow and fallen leaves
Back into the heart of nature
Where as a child I would sit in her bosom
Praying to a God I hadn’t yet identified
Life was nature and nature was life
To return there feels like the ultimate blessing in these days.
City life on the cusp of collapse certainly doesn’t represent what it did when we moved here
It was nothing but open ended opportunity and adventure
Lou Reed used to walk these streets
You could see him out and about
He came to my first gig out here
And my mind exploded with what could be
Times Square with Keren Ann at dawn as the snow came pouring down after an all night recording session that came out of nowhere
Dumbo with Cerise
And opening Momar
The museum of modern arthur
The events we had
Before division drove a spike through us all
Before we allowed fear and the media
To break us apart
Coming back into the city last night
The people masked up and afraid
And the new fear campaign blasting off
I wonder if their faces will ever be seen again
Or if humanity’s ability to subvert the voices and movements of fear is permanently shattered
Up there in nature when you see people they aren’t masked up
They smile at you walking by on the trail
And life seems almost normal
Me and your mama are two kids caught in permanent Christmas right now
Walking on that trail
Looking at each other saying
Can you believe we are here
How did we get here
The journey of life takes you into surprising realms
The gifts open up an explorer’s heart like a shattering stone turning into diamonds or stars
This month my plan is to finish my solo record
To mix it and send it out into the universe in defiance of those that would rather I fall
And in love for those who would rather I rise.
Or just give music. Just to make music. That’s the gift.
Ultimately it’s all just a land of confusion
And I think on the otherside we’ll all find healing and unity
And this whole period will be like a bad dream.
The losses will be real
And when I say that mean no disrespect to those that lost live ones to death.
What I mean is humanity over comes and evolves through horrendous periods
I was talking to a vet upstate who fought in Vietnam
He said eventually people will forget all this
He brought up Vietnam as an example
He said that used to be the most divisive issue around
It meant so much what you thought of that
Where you stood on Vietnam
And he said now look…
No one cares at all
It doesn’t mean anything any more
He looked away as he said that
Far off I could see blood shed in his eyes
Sitting on the couch his walker near by
I said wow you’re right
All the heat will one day be out of this as well
And people will simply move on.
We have a month left here
We have to pack up and sell some guitars
Organize and get ready to move
In our souls we are already there
Up in that mountain walking through the snow and falling leaves
Raising you over my head so that you can feel like you’re flying
To see you smile
Big and wide
No teeth yet
Flying through safe air
Where none of this can touch you.