"Epilogue" by Keaton Henson

Since it is National Poetry Month, I have dedicated this month, April 2017, exclusively to postings of poetry. But I can't resist interrupting the poetry for some musical and visual poetry. On Thursday, English folk rock musician, visual artist, and poet Keaton Henson released a surprise single song, "Epilogue." And it is kind of devastating.

Henson's style is usually highly emotional and melancholy, but this song veers into profound territory around the 2:10 mark with his repeated line, "trying to breathe" and the accompanying subtle electronic distortion.

This is followed by a dream-like string section that is effectively slightly off kilter but achingly lovely and heart-rending, full of a cosmic tenderness and longing...then a section of a murmured voice, possibly played backward.

And of course the gradual dissolution of the entire image is the perfect way to close such a deeply expressive and wrenching statement.

The letters at the end of the film are encoded words using a simple 3-letter shift, or Caesar Cipher: when translated, it reads, simply, "Be kind."

Here's to me
I'm on the edge of my seat
Bound to fall
But I'm hoping you fall into me

Here's to us
Here's to the ties that I've cut
Along the way
Here's to the eyes that I've shut

Here's to my soul
Here's to the weight of my gold
Here's to the words that I've sold
Here's to the cold deep in my bones

Here's to my door
Here's to records that no one would pay for
Songs that I wrote and got laid for

Here's to the floor
Here's to the floor

Here's to my rent
Here's to the money I spent on
Trying to do what I'm bent on,
Trying to breathe
Trying to breathe
Trying to breathe
Trying to breathe

http://keatonhenson.com/