Gabriel Kahane
Barn Song
Kids don’t learn to write their cursive letters here anymore
Fingers more than nimble, and recall's in the frost
Oh all these schools of lisping children
Singing rhymes to their dad
What of words in cracked communion? Noble, silent, and bare
Come apart like needles, and we don’t know the names of
All these trees up on the island
Don’t they just look the same?
Why don’t you ever look up to the sky?
Windows are shuttered, you cover your eye
Don’t see a reason for keeping in time
What of films of Joseph Cotten, angles shot from on high?
None of us remembers the details of the plot, but
We found black and white romantic
Now you’re left with the thought…
Why don’t you ever look up to the sky?
Windows are shuttered, you cover your eye
Don’t see a reason for keeping in time
You’re always distracted, the devil in signs