In the roots of a sycamore tree where it had hid so long
Then the bone was quiet it said no more to me
I’ll remember your song but I’ll forget your name
Osiris, the fall of Troy, Auld Lang Syne
Kathleen, Mauvoreen Magnificat 'Your Cheatin’ Heart'
I am the only unquiet ghost that does not seek rest
The chords of a covenant king singing for the Ark
And though their tongues were dead, I found I knew them all
Then I saw on a white space that was left
So I wrapped it in the ribbons of a sycamore tree
It said, leave me here I care not for wealth or fame
The words on the bone of song were close and small
In the hieroglyphs of quills and quatrain lines
I ran my palm along them and I heard
With a lightness in my step and a song in my bones
The bone of song was a jawbone old and bruised
The words that I sang, blew off like the leaves in the wind
A blessing written older than the rest
Lucky are you who finds me in the wilderness
And perched like birds in the branches
And along its sides and teeth were written words
And worn out in the service of the muse
And as night had come, I turned around and headed home
In a box made out of myrtle lay the bone of song
Before landing on the bone again
Lucky are you who finds me in the wilderness