1. |
Procession
03:50
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Procession
The line needn’t be straight.
Raggedy column, carnival come to town.
We the maligned, mocked critters sighing upon the earth.
The line needn’t be straight.
Our dancers limp, stagger, sway on crutches,
Snatch quills from snouts, cradle bent and blessed wings.
Our incense isn’t sage or myrrh,
Not sandalwood. We swing censers smoking with
Cheap cigars, grilled onions, hospital gift shop bouquets.
We dance into this small place,
This clearing, this held breath, this sanctum
From the world of fires, the vast fires, encircling fires.
Our incense isn’t bought or sold
But found, sometimes stolen. Prayed over,
Wept over as the dancers weave wraps from weeds.
We dance into this quiet place
So that we might breathe together, be enfolded,
Sing over the outer chorus of fratricide called progress.
Let our procession be a dance
From the outer dark to the inner, better dark.
From sharpened flagpoles to the medicine of kind hands.
The line needn’t be straight.
Join hands with me and let’s kiss and smear
Wine on our mouths and conduct this new, better magic.
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2. |
Invocation
05:23
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3. |
Revocation
02:55
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4. |
Incantation: Day
04:11
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5. |
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A Reading from the Book of Regenesis
The fire cycle.
Listen.
You have seen many things rise and fall, rise and vanish.
The great fires release water and vapor into the sky and they become clouds and become rain that falls on the ground to make trees and plants that catch fire and burn and release water and vapor into the sky.
The fire cycle.
The lightning that ignites this tree is from a storm begun by another fire in another place.
The forest burns and unlocks the seed that can only be unlocked if it burns.
The animals eat the plants and we eat the animals and also the plants and we all die and we all are eaten by the plants.
This tree was one hundred wolves. My grandmother is its sap and it is drunk by the bird that was your grandfather.
We are knotted. Together. Like kelp. Like Celts. Like rag rugs. Rags and bones.
The great entanglement.
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6. |
Incantation: Rain
03:38
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7. |
Dance to Summon a God
04:59
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8. |
A Fire of Living Wood
04:47
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9. |
Winter Solstice
03:05
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10. |
Ritual for Enlightenment
03:00
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Clay Steakley recommends:
Cerulean
by Nashville Ambient Ensemble
Gorgeous stuff from Nashville.
go to album
Music for Film and Theatre
by Hania Rani
Gorgeous stuff from Warsaw.
go to album
Gorgeous stuff from Nairoba via Berlin.
go to albumIf you like Clay Steakley, you may also like:
In the music of Paul Jordan, digitally manipulated field recordings become striking electronic songs that feel eerie and surreal.
go to album
The End of Medicine (Original Score)
by Aaron Martin
Kansas-based cellist and composer constructs stirring string arrangements for Alex Lockwood's documentary on zoonotic diseases.
go to album
Linoleum (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
by Hark Madley
The score for the quirky film starring Jim Gaffigan and Rhea Seehorn uses a lush pallette of synths to evoke a wide range of moods.
go to album
