Like Smoke

Slowly I moved through the house
And closed all the windows
Clouds formed above us
As black as the teeth at the back of your mouth
I will drape the sheet over my head
Like a Halloween ghost
We will rise above the city like smoke
We will rise above the city like smoke
We scattered my grandfather’s ashes
In a plant pot of fuchsias
Earlier that day
Surrounded by my cousins and my brothers
You wore a tulip
And I wore a great big rose
We will rise above the city like smoke
We will rise above the city like smoke
Drunk now dancing
Out of time with the record
You come flying
Faster than blood flows
With the weight of the world on your shoulders
You float
We will rise above the city like smoke
We will rise above the city like smoke
One fist shaped like an oven
One wrist like a chimney stack
The heavens open
Contrary to rumours the heavens are black
And we find ourselves responding
Like it’s all a great big joke
We will rise above the city like smoke
We will rise above the city like smoke
My dad’s on the telephone
And his voice is trembling
He has a hard time letting go
He has a hard time remembering
I can understand him clearly
Though there’s something in his throat