Poems / texts
Berlin Atonal: More Light 3/5 (Berlin Atonal Recordings 2021). "A way you'll never be" comes from one of Richards Skinner's poems in the 'light user scheme' (Smokestack, 2013).
a way you’ll never be
She sits at the table, watching the street.
She looks at the faces passing by – each one a clock.
Higher up, the sun hits a cornice. A jet shines sliver.
She wears only blue socks, now,
and has been filling the gaps ever since.
a way you’ll never be
She sits at the table, watching the street.
She looks at the faces passing by – each one a clock.
Higher up, the sun hits a cornice. A jet shines sliver.
She wears only blue socks, now,
and has been filling the gaps ever since.
‘Bardo for Pablo’ (Stroom〰 2018). The album is named after a poem of Richard Skinner that features in 'The Malvern Aviator' (Smokestack, 2018).
How can we make our days simpler?
Expect nothing. Prepare for the others to follow.
What should we aim for?
People don’t change, they only stand more nakedly revealed.
So we’re going backwards?
Yes, you become the person you should always have been.
What worries you most?
That now, in your days, suffering has come to take the place of prophets.
Where do the prophets go wrong?
Those who have ‘belief’ cling, but those who have faith let go.
How shall we know when it happens?
The elements coming together and all the channels clear.
Will I like what’s waiting for me in the room?
You are already beyond the gravity of your mind’s property.
Is it cold where you are?
You do not remember, but you were here once before.
If we take away all we know from who we are, what’s left?
Everything you give away.
Expect nothing. Prepare for the others to follow.
What should we aim for?
People don’t change, they only stand more nakedly revealed.
So we’re going backwards?
Yes, you become the person you should always have been.
What worries you most?
That now, in your days, suffering has come to take the place of prophets.
Where do the prophets go wrong?
Those who have ‘belief’ cling, but those who have faith let go.
How shall we know when it happens?
The elements coming together and all the channels clear.
Will I like what’s waiting for me in the room?
You are already beyond the gravity of your mind’s property.
Is it cold where you are?
You do not remember, but you were here once before.
If we take away all we know from who we are, what’s left?
Everything you give away.
‘all she wants grows blue’ (Swim~ 1998). All the poems appearing on the CD are by Richard Skinner and were published in ‘the light user scheme' (Smokestack, 2013).
all she wants grows blue
She would stand alone in front of a mirror, stroking her belly, looking for signs.
She was puzzled by the expression she saw there.
Later, he climbed up to the bridge and looked out over the city.
It was night and the city orange.
The river swelled, folding in on itself, like muscles.
She would stand alone in front of a mirror, stroking her belly, looking for signs.
She was puzzled by the expression she saw there.
Later, he climbed up to the bridge and looked out over the city.
It was night and the city orange.
The river swelled, folding in on itself, like muscles.
the adjuster
As a boy, Pedro had a stutter and loved straight lines.
When he married, he moved to the city for its
railings, striplights, roadsigns, ledges, doorways.
Pedro found he could talk smoothly after his son was born.
When Pablo was a child, he loved his father’s singing,
but when it came to shoelaces,
he hid from his father and looked at them, confused.
As a boy, Pedro had a stutter and loved straight lines.
When he married, he moved to the city for its
railings, striplights, roadsigns, ledges, doorways.
Pedro found he could talk smoothly after his son was born.
When Pablo was a child, he loved his father’s singing,
but when it came to shoelaces,
he hid from his father and looked at them, confused.
delay horizon
Driving one night in the rain, he nearly falls asleep.
He stops for coffee, looks at his hand.
He remembers that night together with her.
When she thought him asleep,
she got up, stretched, and touched the window -
he wondered what new weather she had divined.
Next morning, she woke him,
stroked his palm and told him the news.
Driving one night in the rain, he nearly falls asleep.
He stops for coffee, looks at his hand.
He remembers that night together with her.
When she thought him asleep,
she got up, stretched, and touched the window -
he wondered what new weather she had divined.
Next morning, she woke him,
stroked his palm and told him the news.
the episodic nature of life
In Damascus, anatomy was discovered before Christ.
So Omar told me at school. I traced him
20 years later to Plymouth
where I’d heard he had an illegal practice.
I found him drunk in an off-limits bar
protesting that his name was Arabic for ‘doctor’,
but people were listening to a sermon on the radio.
In Damascus, anatomy was discovered before Christ.
So Omar told me at school. I traced him
20 years later to Plymouth
where I’d heard he had an illegal practice.
I found him drunk in an off-limits bar
protesting that his name was Arabic for ‘doctor’,
but people were listening to a sermon on the radio.
‘Devotions’ (Celsius Blanco 1992). All texts/lyrics written by Pablo's Eye. Except for 'Vigil' lyrics by Stephen Sheehan.
Double language
Please sing as human as possible.
I can hear you clearly now.
To make the task easier
for those who don’t know,
repeat each melody twice.
Secrecy and ambiguity.
In a gesture like a code.
If double language leads to uncertainty
then please, sing as human as possible.
As a gift of the spirit.
With strict discipline.
A probability of being the solution.
Please sing as human as possible.
I can hear you clearly now.
To make the task easier
for those who don’t know,
repeat each melody twice.
Secrecy and ambiguity.
In a gesture like a code.
If double language leads to uncertainty
then please, sing as human as possible.
As a gift of the spirit.
With strict discipline.
A probability of being the solution.