1. |
Mad Heart (Fragment 1)
04:28
|
|
||
O, my goddess
be good to me
O, my goddess
crush me down
O, my goddess
Release me
Somewhere I won’t be
found.
Help this mad heart
in your soft ways
I know you can
help this mad heart
Help this mad heart, help this mad heart
In its beating, in its beating
Save this poor soul, save this poor soul
From its longing, from its longing
From your golden house
Fly to me now.
Then shone the lightning
And sparrows drew her near
and she smiled oh so sweetly
And asked what was wrong with her poet so
dear.
And I said, I don’t know.
But she knew right away
She saw the love
Staining my face
Said, though, now she flies
Soon, she won’t flee.
Soon, though not yet
she will love thee.
Help this mad heart, help this mad heart
In its beating, in its beating
Save this poor soul, save this poor soul
From its longing, from its longing
End this great ache
If for nothing, then for my sake
And goddess, if you will
My mad, mad heart, with love fill
Release me, release me
I’m lonely, lonely
Fulfil me, fulfil me
Or just end me just end me just end me just
Ah, ah,
Ah…..
|
||||
2. |
O, my Love (Fragment 94)
04:08
|
|
||
O my love, O my love, O my love
O how I wish that we could stay forever
O my love, O my love, O my love
O how I wish we’d not untether
And she spoke, and she spoke with salt like
rivers on her face
“O Sappho dear, O Sappho dear, how wretched
is this time and place
Where I must leave, and you must stay, and we both age
and flowers wither
O Sappho dear, know that I leave, know that I leave
Against my will, against my will.”
And so you go, you go, you go, you go, and I
hope you know, you know, you know, you know
I loved you so, I loved you so, I loved you so.
And sorrow, sorrow, sorrow, sorrow, sorrow
Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello
Old friend
It’s been a while.
But all I said, all I said, all I said, is
“Go, my dear, be free.”
Remember me, remember me and all the
love I had for thee…
And remember flowers in your hair
And the soft beds where we’d share
In all the joy of longing set free
Remember me, O, me.
And so you go, you go, you go, you go, and I
hope you know, you know, you know, you know
I loved you so, I loved you so, I loved you so.
And sorrow, sorrow, sorrow, sorrow, sorrow
Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello
Old friend
It’s been a while.
|
||||
3. |
That Man (Fragment 31)
03:02
|
|
||
Even as the soft morning rain falls
down on this crumbling scene
the man, he seems quite unchanged
this man who can look at you in the rain
This man who smiles and laughs through it all
Like life is nothing but a charm to
put on his wrist and flaunt to the world
this man far greater than any girl like
me - he seems to be a god
a god with his smile and his pretty talk, O
God, I’m nothing but a poet
and all I have are these words for it
These words that will last but a lifetime
but a lifetime then no more
left alone in the desert
to rot and sing no more
and your laughter fills the silence
brushes through my heavy thoughts
my mouth is full of words inexpressible
so I say nothing at all
Still my mouth moves, my skin it flushes
Like a flare in the lamplight, I am
drowning in my shame and envy
of how that man’s name fits in your mouth, like
honey, like something sweet
sweeter than my bitter mead, my
bite with an aftertaste of addiction
my poet’s tongue, my wit, my incisions
But at night, I dream
I close my eyes, and I see
Cities will fall and beasts will die
In the time it takes for you to make up your mind
And you will never be mine, I’ll exhale you
Spit you out like the remains of last night
If you aren’t mine, I hope he’ll have you
I hope my body stops shaking with this bitter craze
And yes, I love you, I am covered in
salt, and stained with love, and I feel close to death.
|
||||
4. |
|
|||
O, ye sweet mountain flower
Blooming in the mist
O, ye sweet mountain flower
with the morning dew you are kissed, kissed
O’er the hills comes the shepherd
with his careless feet
who can blame him, who can blame him
for crushing something so sweet
so sweet, sweet
For beauty is a flame that goes unfed
It burns so bright and leaves you hungry
Beauty is a siren
Calling, calling, with no answer but the
rain, oh, beauty is not made for me
I wither under your cruel feet
my beauty
Have mercy, mercy on me
O, ye sweet mountain flower
Blooming in the mist
O, ye dead mountain flower
By Hades you were kissed
In death’s dream.
But a stain, but a scarlet stream.
But a stain, but a scarlet stream.
Ah, ah, ah, ah.
|
||||
5. |
|
|||
Now comes the night
in all its sweet darkness
darkness from whence
everything came.
Then rise the moon
all of her silver beauty
mocking me for being alone
mocking me for being alone
mocking me for being alone
on this night.
Mocking me for being alone
Mocking me for being alone with the
Heaviness of my crude human heart
threatening to burst on these
tangled bedsheets
good for nothing but reminding me of the
taste of another’s sweetness
How I’d kill to feel that again!
How I’d kill to know even then
That loneliness can kill
that drinking all your fill
Will only bring such thirst
in the morning
How happiness can hurt
In spite of all the mirth
as soon as they still leave
I feel they never once would have loved me
I feel they never once would have loved me.
For who would love a fool such as I?
A girl who looks upon the sky
and sees the moon as some wretched sister
though she is a god, I swear that I know her
I’ve told her of my love
and her silver facepaint never flakes
til-til the morning
til her love comes back, him
so bright and beautiful
bringing light, not sorrow
and now she shines her light on my tired human
skin, on her way to the Pleiades
Must be nice
to be able to touch the sky.
And I tell myself she’s alone like me
for a cold comfort is all I need
she feels the light of her love
but cannot touch him
why, my moon, my friend, my ally, we are
fighting the same war
so just stay until the dawn
Just stay until the dawn.
So, rise the moon
over the Pleiades
I’ll stay in bed
alone.
|
||||
6. |
I Want (Fragment 22)
04:47
|
|
||
They once blamed me
for those words in my mouth
They once blamed how my soul tastes of salt
Not sugar, not sweetened to their liking
And they hate the want, the want of a
woman, the wanton, the desire, the fountain of
love, only meant to sing lullabies
Sleep now my dear for the night is near
Lay down your head on the hide and dream of
All the things you wanted, all the things that make you wanton
You want them, you wanton little thing
Are you there, are you there my love?
Bring me a lover, O goddess above
Make her sweet, make her melt on my lips
And if not that then at least let us kiss
And those words on my teeth
in the back of my mouth like permanent runes of longing, longing
I want, I want, I want, I want
And I will not deny it any longer
I want, I want, I want, I want
The more I deny it the more it grows stronger
I want
Come now, let’s dance, darling
Would you take my hand?
Blood in my mouth, darling
Would you take my hand?
I’m so in love, darling
Would you take my hand?
So in love with love, darling
Would you take me as I am?
Would you take me as I am?
And those words on my teeth
in the back of my mouth like permanent runes of longing, longing
I want, I want, I want, I want
And I will not deny it any longer
I want, I want, I want, I want
The more I deny it the more it grows stronger
I want
I want
What’s wanting ever given me
but all these untouched histories
and salt in my teeth
in my dreams
all the bad dreams it has given me
Still, here they are in my sleep
these words the gods have given me
my prayer to nobody
I want
I want
I want, I want, I want, I want
And I will not deny it any longer.
|
Cadence Chung Wellington, New Zealand
Cadence Chung is a poet, composer, musician, and student from Te-Whanganui-a-Tara. Her poetry has been published widely, with her debut chapbook 'anomalia' released in April 2022 with Tender Press. Her original musical 'In Blind Faith' debuted at BATS Theatre in August 2022, and she is currently studying Classical Voice at the New Zealand School of Music. ... more
Streaming and Download help
If you like Cadence Chung, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp