The Man Who Nearly Drowned
From that time on, his stories grew stranger
Of the time he met the talking crow
And the pine tree full of dancing girls
And the green city that lay in the lake
Which could only be reached by holding your breath
And believing, which nobody did but him
And then he could no longer go out alone
To stand on the shore and stare at the lake
It’s one thing to talk to the talking crow
And another to walk out and sink like a stone
While the bubbles behind you rise towards the light
And to pick out a hint of green in the dark
They’re moving him now to a different state
Where the ocean’s green grass and the city’s bright steel
And the girls all dance on a certain street
And the light in his eyes is a stranger’s pen
As he sits very still and hears in his head
The familiar sound of his rushing blood
And he thinks of the folly of trusting a crow
And believing a thing that won’t stay on the ground
As the wind brings no smell of the sea
