photo Tom Kay
The film Edges of Sanity is now live on The Guardian. Below is the text of the poem.
Edges of Sanity
1.
It’s been said
On far shores, weary mariners hear voices
Songs so beautiful they cast a spell
There is no choice but to hear.
They claim these whispers hold a message
Each ear hears different music
But the same call hunts the senses:
Without risk, there is no beauty
Without chance, no adventure
Through suffering, wealth without limit
So we scheme and plan
And tell nobody of our dreams
Shuffle cards, chance vague variables
And tread endless road miles until
Close against cold ground we toss and turn
And summon black water
2.
For I am of the waiting deep
The great denier, the poised fist
Stalker of pitch oceans
Whose fingers twist about your throat…
I swallowed the sad pilgrims
Who fell to flat reef, their vessels sunk
Into water bitter as winter night
Beyond the edges of sanity
I am the waiting teeth of the rocks below
The grinning maw in the clouds
Bearer of the hourglass - killer of the short dim day
Who beckons you to dare
3.
The north song does not stop
Power in that promise
Goes beyond common meanings
You have walked in footsteps new
What was before will never be again
But memories of lined faces
And in the glowing after
Breaking bread the sweetest knot
All weight shed - light extraordinary
Until my whisper comes again…
And the future begs your listening
The future begs your listening