The Empress

Lyrics

I dragged this red velvet out into the light
To sink in the center of the summer’s height
The river spills out like an unmade bed
Twelve heavy stars balancing upon my head
The forest of cypress is watching my back
We don’t need a plow and we don't need a track
I sit on the cushions and wait for the green
To swallow the spaces that open between

The mind wants a grid, wants to map out the grain
Wants to measure the water that falls in the rain
But the brain is just soil looking for a seed
And the body just leans into exactly what it needs

And it grows, oh it grows without a hand to hold
There is nowhere you can hide from a root that wants the sun
Lean back against the copper shield, the shape of the heart
Everything is starting, and it won’t be undone
It’s the heavy golden yes, the heavy golden yes
A riot in the field, bursting through the dress

There’s a little grey oxidation on the Venus mark
But I never polish it, I let the copper go dark
This white silk is stained with the pomegranate juice
When the stem is too heavy, the fruit just breaks loose
Down through the rocks to the wide valley floor
Once it starts breathing, you can’t close the door

The mind wants a grid, wants to map out the grain
Wants to measure the water that falls in the rain
But the brain is just soil looking for a seed
And the body just leans into exactly what it needs

And it grows, oh it grows without a hand to hold
There is nowhere you can hide from a root that wants the sun
Lean back against the copper shield, the shape of the heart
Everything is starting, and it won’t be undone
It’s the heavy golden yes, the heavy golden yes
A riot in the field, bursting through the dress

It is a terrible blooming, a reckless affair
Taking the light and taking the air
It is soft but it’s fierce in the dirt
If you try to stop the seasons, someone’s going to get hurt

Just sit in the wheat
Let the silk get stained
It's all growing, anyway
The heavy golden yes
Until the crushing weight of the harvest comes