Amaryllis at my back door
Swear to God it wasn’t there before
Growing tall from the cold hard ground
Red and green
What’s a hothouse flower like this
Doing in the land of winter’s kiss?
I do believe I’ve seen a sign
I do believe it.
Mississippi she weaves and winds
Makes her way from the northern pines
Land-locked water is ocean-bound
To New Orleans
Sunlit water come take my joy
To wash the skin of a southern boy
I do believe I’ve seen a sign
I do believe it.
Crazy wind blows across the land
African drum in an Irish band
Dream tattooed in the palm of your hand
Walls slip away like a pillar of sand
Sister lookin’ for the hand of fate
Maybe better try a change of state
Shake your life like a dusty rug
Out the kitchen door
New world springing from the shell of the old
You can’t say now you were never told
I do believe I’ve seen a sign
I do believe it.
© 1995 Emma Bull
Emma Bull 
Just discovered you. Like the poem a lot. post more, please. I’ll be looking for your work. My artwork at rickmobbs.com if you want to check it out. Best wishes, Rick
Shake your life like a dusty rug
Out the kitchen door
New world springing from the shell of the old
You can’t say now you were never told
I do believe I’ve seen a sign
I do believe it.
***
This is my favorite part! Wonderful wordsmithing, this work makes visions appear in my head. Very inspiring, thank you.
I’ve always admired your way with descriptive imagery.
Thank you for the poem.
This is wonderful ! I can hear a tune to it — I could set it to music. I just discovered you because a friend lent me _War for the Oaks_, which I adored. I particularly appreciated the way you mixed elements of traditional British fairy lore with the modern urban environment of 80s Minneapolis. Oh, and your attention to *clothes* was just fabulous. As was your depiction of what it’s like to be in a band. Thank you!
bramble, it’s great that you hear a tune there, because it is a song. I just added a link here for a free download of the Flash Girls performing it.
I’m answering this ’cause Emma is deep in deadline hell—Shadow Unit has eaten our lives in the best way.
This is one of my favorite Flash Girls songs and it did bring me some cheer during hard times.