We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.
/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

about

It doesn't take much water to set a low-slung speedboat even lower in the water. Same is true for some relationships.

lyrics

She didn’t ask for a sign, but the boat sank 

anyway. Built for speed and low in the water,
the little black skiff didn’t stand a chance
against an early riser cutting circles 

on a Jet Ski so close to the slip.

Her captain was the handsome kind—

the kind that carried a small knife

and knew which knots would slide,
which would cinch.

She was the kind who watched 

as the hands of men made tidy work
of rough things. She trusted 

in words like bowline and cleat hitch, 

fastened them tight around her doubts, 

believed.

That morning, looking out from the water’s edge,

they could see the red seats floating

beyond the buoys toward the middle 

of Lake Tenkiller.

Not on the new upholstery, baby,
he’d said yesterday, when she undid
her top and dropped a knee sideways.

Now, standing on the dock and charmed 

by the iridescent gleam of diesel snaking 

on the water’s surface, she imagined 
the boat
straining against the knots.

A few waves over the stern 

was all it took to make the frayed
green nylon groan and give way
with an irrefutable snap, sending her down
into the murky shallows.

She didn’t ask for a sign, but there,
from the quiet, silty bottom, 

the blown oil gauge stared up at her

with its one greasy, black eye.

credits

released July 22, 2017
Words by Anna Weaver (originally published in the Southern Poetry Anthology: Volume VII). Music by Stephen "Doc" Hutchings. Recorded at Osceola Studios, Raleigh, NC, in December 2016.

Photo by James Baldwin on Unsplash.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

openmictourist image

openmictourist Raleigh, North Carolina

Poets Anna Weaver and Ben Molini and musician Stephen "Doc" Hutchings live, work, and collaborate in Raleigh, NC. As half of the acoustic duo FreeRadikal, Doc has recorded two albums, with a third in the works. Ben's and Anna's poems have appeared in journals, zines, anthologies, and elsewhere. Their creative partnerships took root and thrive at local open mic nights. ... more

contact / help

Contact openmictourist

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

openmictourist recommends:

If you like sinking, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring interviews with LA music scene pillar Kamasi Washington, and new London-based duo Mrcy.

listen now