Ocean, City, Gold

PROGRAM NOTE

And it all comes down to this:
What song will you sing to your kids
After the oceans have swallowed
The last of the cities we built from gold?

When our bodies begin to pass
From muscle and blood into ash
Will we recall how we all chose
Contempt for our neighbors
Instead of the labor of love?

And it all comes down to this
And it all comes down to this

We’ll watch the film through an aperture
Cloudy and greased with the past,
Camera moves fast through
The first day of school
When you wandered the room,
And your teacher said
Keep your hands all to yourself,

First dates, first kiss, first nights
Prowling the roof all alone
With your tears and heart in your throat,

And it all comes down to this
And it all comes down to this

When the waves replace the shore,
And you can’t see the earth anymore
Will you remember the shape of the skyline,
The haze on the cities we built from gold?

Text by Gabriel Kahane, 2022

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