Listen to these hymns. Listen to these elegies:

You ought to have seen what I saw on my way
To your house past the old creek today
I was cutting through Cecil Boggs’ yard, in the shadow of his mansion
I heard a scream from that castle, echoing like a bullet through a canyon.

In the cavernous home, who knows what it might be?
That preacher Boggs always has something up his sleeve
Remember he told us that God said he needed that house
More room for his worship but we know what that was about
But last night at the social
I thought I would’ve seen young John Boggs
He’s always at those dances and he loves to find out
What people have been up to and where they’ve been about

But last night at the social
Did you see Alan Holley?
He was ranting to anyone who’d listen about his day
I guess he fell into the creek and current almost took him away

He’s convinced God pulled him out of the water
And he wrote a prayer into his wrist about his ‘true father’
He says that Boggs is a heretic and that we should send him out
Well presto. Nobody wants Holley about.
See, Boggs last Sunday at our service he said
That the best way to get a message into a child’s head
The best way to teach them – here’s what he said
Says the best way is to beat it right into their skin
Like a hymn! Like a hymn! Let the Truth fly in
Their little minds don’t know better so let’s beat it right in
Did they get home late I’ll bet your fist works great
They’ll never forget all those lessons in their skin.

Do you think that has something to do with where John might be?

I haven’t seen his sister or his brothers either – let me see
Olive wasn’t a church and Georgia hasn’t been to school

Do you think Boggs’ hand is keeping those children subdued?

I wonder you didn’t see Emmett Crabtree about?

The best of it was that I did you know,
I was getting through what Boggs’ yard had to show
When over the wall and into the road
When who should come by in his shiny new coat
Of all the chattering Crabtrees alive
But Emmett, the elderly, out for a drive
He saw you, then? What did he? Did he frown?
He just kept nodding his head up and down.
You know how politely he always goes by
But he thought a big thought I could tell by his eye
Which being expressed might be this in effect:
I left these woods I shrewdly suspect
To flourish too long, I am greatly to blame.
They should be cut down and in their place
A parking lot and department store space.

Breathe the clean air while its still there.
Smell the fresh rain before its fake.

Listen to this hymn. It sings like a rusty saw blade.

This is a psalm for your greedy palms
For all of your guilt donate to the palace that we’ve built
Your sins are a burden and are just getting in the way
Of building me an extra house for all my guests to stay

And I wish I could lie to myself like they do
They couldn’t find the truth a moment too soon
How Boggs has been using their faith as a scam
For building his wealth and destroying the land
I was a sick soul before yesterday afternoon
But now I’ve been baptized by the sun and the moon
I was filled with lust and I was filled with hate
But now I can feel those demons abate

This is a hymn for all your sins
Sit there and pray and let this weight sink in
But do what you want all week long
And if you show up every Sunday all your sins will be gone.

I told you how once not long after we came
I almost lost myself to total mirth
By taking you to get lost in the earth
And see what truth laid in the hollows to be had

The sun shined out warm and the vines were all wet.
It was so long since we walked there that I almost forget.
How we used to take in trees and look at every flower
Stick them in our hair feeling fresh as a shower

And you missed the woods and I said I did too!
We went back out there and wandered a while
We got separated but you gave me a smile
I was so scared that you had wandered some miles

I thought I had lost you and I let out a shout
Too loud for the distance you were it turned out
And when you answered your voice as low as a bird
I’ll always remember the simple words that I heard.

I’d love to see these gardens overgrown
I’d love to see these fountains overflow
Oh, Alan what a nice way to live
Just taking what Nature is willing to give

But we won’t have this place to ourselves to enjoy
Not likely when Boggs’ flock all deploy
That shepherd will have them all over the night
They won’t be too friendly and they really won’t be polite but still
You ought to have seen how it looked in the rain
The fruit mixed with water in layers of leaves
Like two kinds of jewels. A vision for thieves.*


* = Song modeled after 'Blueberries' by Robert Frost with miscellaneous direct quotations.