this my excavation...

"this my excavation and today is qumran

everything that happens is from now on...

there's a black crow sitting across from me; his wiry legs are crossed

and he's dangling my keys, he even fakes a toss

whatever could it be

that has brought me to this loss?

...this is not the sound of a new (wo)man or crispy realization

it's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away

your love will be safe with me."

-excerpts from the song "re: stacks" by bon iver
-(wo) = my addition!

have a listen:

	Bon Iver - -
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

i read an interview with the lead singer of bon iver, justin vernon, and he talked about how this song hints at a slow shedding of skin, rather than a complete catharsis. "it is not about getting over things and moving forward, it is about going through the sadness, taking some of it with you and being made whole because of it."

qumran is the site where the dead sea scrolls were found in 1947. vernon speaks to his use of this metaphor by saying, "when they found them it changed the whole course of christianity, whether people wanted to know it or not. a lot of people chose to ignore it, a lot of people decided to run with it, and for many people it destroyed their faith. i think i was just looking at it as a metaphor for whatever happens after that is new shit."

"new shit!" eloquently said, eh!? but, i get it. i really get it. there seem to be times in life that are clearly marked and everything that follows that point is "from now on."

when vernon wrote this song and all of the other songs on the album "for emma, forever ago," he had taken himself on solitary retreat for three months to his father's log cabin in the middle of the woods in wisconsin. he chopped wood, wrote music and faced demons. he was at a place in his life where he needed to "clear the cobwebs." vernon says, “i think the biggest thing that happened out there was i managed to make peace with a lot of dark circles that had started to pool in different areas of my life. you know oftentimes you don’t have the time or the strength to really deal with those issues. it’s a bizarre feeling because for the six, seven years prior to that a lot of these demons had started to creep up and take hold of my life in a secretive way, so to actually face up to them was bold and kinda scary.""on your back with your racks as the stacks as your load

in the back and the racks and the stacks are your load

in the back with your racks and you're un-stacking your load"


-chorus lyrics from "re: stacks"
-acrylic painting, "rust," by marc winters