Tarot · Track 14 · middle
Temperance
RWS: a great angel, one foot on land and one in the water, pouring a thread of liquid between two cups, irises at the bank, a crown of light on a far path. Keywords: balance, alchemy, moderation, the slow blend, patience worked like a craft.
No audio yet — generation pending.
Lyrics
One heel sinking in the riverbed's clay The other on the rock where the yellow irises wait I do not choose the current, I do not choose the stone I stand where the two worlds rub down to the ghost It takes an eternity to learn how to stand With a foot in the flood and a foot on the land Pour the light into the heavy cup Pour the silence down the silver wire This is the labor of holding it up The water that does not extinguish the iron It looks like surrender, but it's muscle pulled tight An impossible diagonal, catching the eye Behind me, the path cuts a line through the peak A glowing gold crown for the pilgrims who sleep But I do not walk, I remain at the edge I am the fulcrum, I am the breath The synapses fire where the two currents meet A chemical truce at the soles of my feet You think it is easy to blend what is torn? To cradle the chaos until it takes form? Pour the light into the heavy cup Pour the silence down the silver wire This is the labor of holding it up The water that does not extinguish the iron It looks like surrender, but it's muscle pulled tight An impossible diagonal, catching the eye Exactly forty-three degrees of tilt in the wrist The liquid defies what the gravity claims The red wings fold down in the morning mist Refusing the ashes, refusing the pain Between the cold river and the sun on the town There is no arrival Just the endless, aching grace of staying One foot in the current One foot in the dust The liquid is singing A matter of trust The cups never empty The cups never fill I am standing here still Still pouring Still pouring