Breath & Shadow
2007 - Vol. 4, Issue 1
Two Poems
written by
Nancy Pontius
"Another Bird Song"
St. Francis is here,
birds on his shoulders,
in violet dawn.
Deer will graze
and wait for the sun
to turn the desert into gold.
Whisper when you approach
this sacred place
where birds sing epic poems,
telling secrets
you never knew
about agave
and prickly poppy
about the yoga
of Sonora —
how she stretches
towards the sea
how they build nests in saguaros
for shelter from the storms.
They sing of lightning
and the water world,
the desert, becomes.
They sing this morning
somewhere out there
longingly
of nostalgic globemallow
and laughing
blue morning glory
that will come out
whenever it rains again.
They sing the blues
of the longest drought in history
expecting monsoon
to break it,
break it soon.
"Medication Blues"
(Lyrics written in collaboration with Elizabeth Woolfolk. Musical score created in collaboration with Eric Royer)
Medication is a pain in the ass.
I'm a free spirit and I long to last.
Popping pills daily and I'm in a haze,
might as well go back to my acid days.
Medication, medication, medication blues—.
One is yellow, one is pink, one is green,
you can't believe the shit that I'm seein'.
Some pills make me manic, others make me panic.
I like the ones that make me mellow.
Medication, medication, medication blues—.
Dope you up 'til you are numb
so you won't tell what's really going on.
The meds make my mind and my body tired.
Somehow my neurons are still misfired.
Medication, medication, medication blues—.
My brain hurts, nothing is easy
popping pills is making me queasy.
My meds are worth much more than gold,
but I must take them, must do what I'm told.
Medication, medication, medication blues—.
Some pills are better than being locked away.
I'm not going to the hospital today.
I just want to fly faraway,
somewhere where being like me is OK.
Medication, medication, medication blues—.
Nancy Pontius has a degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona. She was recently published in Thorny Locust. Her background includes theater, musicals, and playing and singing in bands. Her music group, Project Bluebird, has long been on the charts on soudclick.com in the Indie category, reaching as high as 14. Nancy struggles with chronic Epstein-Barr virus, chronic fatigue syndrome, and bipolar disorder. She considers herself "differently wired," rather than mentally ill. She’s a member of the bipolar activist and support organization, the Icarus Project.