#elliottsmith
(a tribute to richard walters)
under the soft stage light
richard walters performed
a song called awards night
he’d written about elliott smith.
my heart ached quietly
for the ghost his voice carried.
sofar fairy –
as i call her in my head –
said i looked like
i was in the clouds,
living in the memory
of someone else.
his energy followed me
into the next morning at work.
half-stunned, half-joking,
they’d insinuate
my joy must have come
from someone’s warm embrace.
how could i explain to them,
that music and words
can whisper through your ribs,
settle in your chest,
and lift you higher
than any touch permits?
richard’s voice just lingered
like the aftertaste of honey,
like rain caught in leaves.
i carried him home in my pulse,
where elliott still lives,
softly whispering between
the notes of his guitar strings.
Aug 3, 2025
Aug 3, 2025 at 7:42 AM UTC
soft and whispering
your words
like a stab in the chest
make me feel
alone
Feb 14, 2018
Feb 14, 2018 at 10:30 AM UTC
Lying on my back and needing a few hours to myself,
Elliott Smith was singing that familiar line in my ear as he did so often when I reached this same threshold of sadness:
"Dreadful sorry, Clementine" ,
And you seemed to know just how dreadful all of it was to me,
Slipping out of my comfort, which is shaky at best in the eyes of the public,
But the tempo did change, Elliott...
And I confess that I don't think I'm killing her,
She won't let me give her life,
She thinks she's glowing right now...
Does it mean she can't comprehend?
Someone should be ashamed, Elliott.
I'd love to sing into her some life she's yet to discover,
Replace her doubt for continued existence with nothing more but yearning for foreign lands, hand in hand with me,
Yet I digress and can only sigh.
Jul 19, 2016
Jul 19, 2016 at 11:52 PM UTC
Drink up baby,
stay up all night
with the things you could do
you won't, but you might
the potential you'll be, that you'll never see
the promises you'll only make
Drink up with me now
and forget all about
the pressures of days
do what I say
and I'll make you okay,
drive them away
the image is stuck in your head
The people you've been before
that you don't want around anymore
that push, and shove and won't bend to your will
I'll keep them still
Drink up baby
look at the stars
I'll kiss you again
between the bars
where I'm seeing you there
with your hands in the air
waiting to finally be caught
Drink up one more time
and I'll make you mine
keep you apart
deep in my heart
separate from the rest
but I like you the best
keep the things you forgot
The people you've been before
that you don't want around anymore
that push, and shove and won't bend to your will
I'll keep them still
Aug 27, 2015
Aug 27, 2015 at 8:12 AM UTC