1. |
All He Needs
03:33
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This twisted tree points its branches
to the smoking blue eyes of the sky
Once a man with needs,
a grown child with dreams,
held now encased in wood & vine
The wind turns the silver underbellies of the leaves
to catch the rain in limpid beads
& the brilliant sun coaxes him boundlessly
This is all he needs now. This is all he needs.
He had a name, a mistress & an offspring
Two feet to stand & teeth to feed
He had temptation, hesitation,
guilt, greed, religion & flesh to bleed
Mistress Bonnie never went out looking for her husband
He was last seen at the edge of civilization:
knees in the green moss, his head in his hands
There stood Timothy Dan was collecting scraps in the clearing
He called out to Joshua:
“Don’t go in that evil place, sir. Don’t go in there, man!”
The warnings were not heard by Joshua
for the whispering trees held him in a trance
as he crawled in deeper, slowly.
Timothy told this story so many times
that it became that the moss grew all around Joshua,
the green figure faded & blended in
until he came to a place to stand
& lifted up his arms to ask one last question:
& the vines whipped at him,
wrapped around his wrists & ankles,
shoots sprouted from his fingers bearing leaves,
his skin cracking & turning brown
Then Joshua went still—
til the wind let out her held breath
& gently swayed his twisted branches
Bonnie never went out looking for her husband,
never set her foot near the edge of civilization
She knows those woods are enchanted
but was this an evil deed?
As a tree without memory,
there was no need to set him free
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2. |
Three Ravens
04:12
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There were three ravens sat on a tree,
Downe a downe, hay downe, hay downe.
And they were black as they might be,
With a down.
Then one of them said to his mate
"Where shall we our breakfast take?"
With a downe derrie derrie downe derrie downe.
Downe in yonder greene field,
Down a down hey down hey down.
There lies a knight slain under his shield;
With a downe.
His hounds they lie downe at his feete,
So well they can their master keepe;
With a downe derrie derrie derrie downe derrie downe.
[O] she lifts up his bloudy head,
And kist his wounds that were so red;
She got him up upon her backe
And carried him to the earthen lake;
With a downe derrie derrie derrie downe derrie downe.
She buried him before the prime
She was dead herselfe e're even-song time.
{Now] god send every gentleman
Such hounds, such Hawkes, and such a leman.
With a downe derrie derrie derrie downe derrie downe.
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3. |
To Bloom
04:57
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Lady killed herself
She was bred to marry
No one would have her
Save the earth she would go back to
No god up above
No belief she could find
Said, ”I will not eat your bread
And I will not drink your wine.”
Mother said “Hush, this must be done
After the children, love will come”
Father said, “Woman, hold your tongue
One more word & I will strike you down.”
Slow as the motion of the bridal procession
Lady’s face behind the veil
Took a dark expression
Cold & damp were her hands
As she took the ring.
She cut the red meat at the wedding feast
And concealed the knife underneath
The heavy, heavy folds of her wedding gown.
She freed herself
From the janglin in her mind
She was my friend
And I cannot fault her crime.
The man she was bound to marry
Was a pig, he was a liar
She stabbed him in the wedding bed
Then took her own life.
“My mind will not be broken,”
The note read, “Mother, the earth has spoken,
Lay my bones in her fertile arms
And please forgive me all my wrongs.”
Father would not bury her;
said “Drag the body to the river;
Let the beasts and scavengers consume her,
And when you leave her,
Be certain she is holding her tongue.”
Mother went to the groundskeeper;
Gave him a string of her finest pearls.
She begged him, “Please gather Lady’s body
And take her to the garden where the greens grow untamed;
Bury my daughter with seeds of the wild rose
So she can live again
And bloom this time
And bloom this time
She killed herself
She was bred to marry
No one would have her
Save the earth she would go back to
No god up above
No belief she could find
Said, ”I will not eat your bread
And I will not drink your wine.”
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4. |
On A String
03:28
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He’s coming Here it comes
It’s coming Yes, here he comes
Three eyes Four hands
Twelve minds Ten hearts
& I’m in the light of his fingers
& I’m in the light that he fingers
Golden, the fire he breathes about
I can taste it
I can taste him
Shimmering vines he loosens round
I am burnt
I am bound
My splintered nails & rusted rings
He makes a shining twine of these things
I’m on a string
He’s over me
He holds this power
He doesn’t know
I’m on a string
I am the light from his fingers
He doesn’t know
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5. |
Monkey See Monkey Do
03:40
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Monkey see, monkey do. Don't monkey me, Monkey, you.
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6. |
In The River
06:48
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In the river, beneath the river, beneath the river
Here she bathes the faces
of the mother & the daughter & the healer
Don’t interrupt her til it’s over
She’s got 30 more faces til she’s done.
You watch her & you want to get closer
You’re slow, creeping slow, creeping slow
Just like water drips through stone
Uou’re slow, dripping slow, creeping slow
Your heart starts to drum
Lazy saunter to her throne
Her crimson pucker & her pallor of bone
The way her breath slips over the tip of her tongue
Isn’t she done? Is she done? Is she done?
In her eyes are her eyes of seaweed green
lined in black with bands of yellow rings
You want to see what they see when they see you
Don’t interrupt her ‘cause she’s almost through
Now she’s unbraiding her knotted hair
Unfolding the furrows in her hardened stare
She washes the faces of the killer & now the crone
In the river, beneath the river, beneath the river
She’s almost done
Everything inside her burnt right down to the ground
Where she’d lay awhile too thick to move
Try to find a reason
to make her way deep down to the river
I know the water will carry away the ashes
I know the water will carry away the ashes
flow
You know she knows things
They don’t make much sense
Stay away from her river
Stay away from her river
Stay away from her river
In the river, beneath the river, beneath the river
Here she bathes the faces
of the mother & the daughter & the healer
She washes the faces of the killer
& now the crone
In the river, beneath the river, beneath the river
She’s got 30 more faces til she’s done
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Mal VU Chicago, Illinois
Mal VU began in 1993 in Columbus, Ohio by performance artist Vena Gore (Lesley Ann Fogle) and Darrin Brown. After relocating to Chicago in 1998, Vena worked in various recording studios producing Mal Vu songs at night. Mal VU grew to include Traci Trouble and a slew of guest musicians from the Chicago scene. American gothic with dark narrative ballads. Members of After-Death Plan ... more
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