All That Is

O, Shanty
O, Village
I left so long ago
Your softly protruding gables
Your tight angles
Your beams of weatherbeaten wood

O, Shanty
O, Village
O, there overgrown wild nature
Find comfort in your hungry summer
Rest in your frozen fall

O, Shanty
O, Village
Your bricks not needing edge
Your corners not needing completion
I radiate back in baked and glazed memories

O, Shanty
O, Village
O, special place
Where the loneliest days befallen
Captured the last of my youth
Drank it up in cup
And spilled it back to sea

O, Shanty
O, Village
O, far away place
O, whatever I want it to be

O, Shanty
O, Village
I sing your name nigh
I may never be back home with thee
--
5.19.11