Winter

from North Pond by Ben Morris

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lyrics

Fall.
Harvest time.
Food and gas.
Stocking my shelves.
Gaining pounds.
Getting drunk.
I make my rounds, on the town.
Stealing junk
Grow my hair
To any length
Only one prayer
To keep my strength

I watch the leaves fade
From red to brown
The dappled cold shade,
It calms me down.

Temperature sinking,
I'm thinking.
I'm stinking.
I'm drinking...

Winter!
Negative twenty-two
Cold winds from the north.
Frozen ground, through and through
I'm restless,
Wandering back and forth.

No one knows what I've felt.
Try to keep composed.
The ice takes days to melt,
with every inch exposed.

Light the grill when you wake.
You know the drill, survival's sake.

Let it glow to melt the snow.
Stuck inside, nowhere to go.
In not too long my bones will freeze.
I'll die alone, just leave me be.

Cold, rainy, wet, gusty,
condensation, icy chill.
Rank, moldy, damp, musty,
suffocation, can’t sit still.

It wasn't hibernation, I was wide awake.
I needed motivation, and I took no breaks.
There's calculation for rationing goods.
There's adaptation; I mastered the woods.

I had no assistance, never slept inside.
It was a free existence, but not an easy ride.

There's deprivation,
I was helpless and blind.
Dehydration,
no peace of mind.

Insulation,
for frozen toes.
Meditation,
when death was close.

Pray for food and heat.
Sleep from 8 till 2
Not much left to eat
Not much left to do.

Too little food. Too much cold.
Too little sleep.
For too long... too long...

Was it February... March... April?

I told myself I was alive
and waited for the birds to sing.
That's how I knew warmth would arrive,
and it finally would be spring.

It beats jail
at least I was sane.
I never wished to leave,
despite the pain.
I miss the woods.

The silence...
I miss the silence.

credits

from North Pond, released March 1, 2017
Michael Hewitt - Joshua Knight

Likai He - Violin
Fanny Spangaro - Cello
Thomas Frey - Clarinet
Sohee Kwon - Piano
Nils Aardahl - Bass
Brady Spitz - Drums

Ben Morris - Music, lyrics, engineering