Avalanche Patrol

We've got a long way to go

Before we finish our patrol

Light burns off in the distance

No one dares make a sound

Scared we might wake the snow

Sleeping giants love to listen

And tethered together by lines of gold

Two of my brothers on patrol

Our breathing keeps us in rhythm

Well honey I know it's getting cold

Eye on the wool cape you have wove

I can smell your lavender and lipstick

You would never, ask me when I'm coming home

You know better, than to wait and watch the snow

While the other wives and mothers pray and count their rosaries

Not my lover, her lipstick lavender keeps her close to me

One, Two

One, Two, Three, Four

Hold me close as the hour escapes

Sunlight running on the mountain's ravenous face

The moon came too soon and it'll stay out too late

And I can feel that goddamn bell before they ring it

Gold heats in your hair promptly at 4 p.m.

Then cool to amber as the sun sets again

The light through the blinds paints patterns on skin

Your head dovetails so nicely on my chest where you laid it

When I'm out in the shop, faced to the forge

I think of you, my love, as I tend to the coals

Smiths with flames high in their eyes are all for show

Dreaming, lying to themselves that they've bridled Hades

A fire's that's good take patience, control

Even bellow breathing this work is painfully slow

But you must hold on because you'll taste the reward

When that white iron draws out, just like it was painted

I know you know this, but I tell you this time

Because I need to say it out loud to feel right

You listen to me whisper it, my lips graze you ear with every line

And you memorize every word, just as I say it

Press into me, leave marks in my side

And I promise to pull you in until my knuckles go white

You're breathing with me now as the sun slips behind the mountain ridge to the west

And the day is finished