LARRY HIRSHBERG

 

Ribcage

Remember when you knew the whole design?
Now you're tired of the same old rhymes
The hour hand begins to shrink
You miss a lot if you blink
Used to lean into the rain
Gravity was less a chain

Chorus:
And then you found that ribcage
That empty solo ribcage
Way out past the beaver dam
Where the cottonwoods are grand
Used to be a rhythm there
Now forgotten sculpture, bone and air

Cathedral where the insects come to pray
But it's too cold for services today
The river talks before it rests
Sometimes the last time is the best
Feel it in your neck and back
No one can dispute the facts

Chorus
Standing near that ribcage….

The thread is rolling off the spool
November grounds the widows and the fools
The hour hand begins to shrink
You miss a lot if you blink
Used to lean into the wind
Gravity was more your friend

Chorus

Remember when you knew the whole design?