lockdown christmas isn’t out
and about, but in the windows
above, a present peeking out
from a tear in the wrapping
i scan the rite aid shelves
for things we may need
lockdown christmas
indeed, in the makeshift alleyway
of plastic nets
and rows of trees
and the bitter wind
don’t fight it
i can always find myself out to sea
on a night like this, if i like
my gaze is straight ahead
but everything else is free
to do as it please
lockdown christmas was just an idea
caught in a draft
from one mountain to another
like all others
tonight of all nights
the moon continues its waning
but we’re not the only ones
under that impression
outside for a quiet walk
the black night is managed
with brute force
the slap of workers stacking pallets
echoes, turns heads
In the tradition of the great Sunday Morning Funny Papers, Sunshine and Wind is proud to present an abstract cartoon. Classic one panel action happening here. Best caption gets a free sticker!
i keep describing things as being
back on the menu
i seem to be obsessed with this idea
that things that had been unavailable
are around again
arrival is a singularity
the thing that is back on the menu
is my retention of it
of the call
and the rejection of the call
even though someone else having
experienced just this is impossible,
it’s hard to keep this knowledge
at the foreground of every moment
and every moment is only remembered
as a way to segment the whole
so memories are only photographs
but don’t let the fact that they’re not real
make them appear any less impressive
see, these things can be useful.
so GO with it. be afraid but don’t write about it so much.
let yourself see it in the exhausted trees,
who cannot enjoy the moment
and know the end is coming soon …
they’re over the hump, cresting the solstice, etc.
they’d like some more water – maybe?
but their green has lots and lots of food
how thick are those trunks really
the long version:
the things that happen in stairwells,
hearing music from a loft.
that party where EC found that money
and bought those winterboots.
the stairwells at the music building
each with their own pot smoking landing
all those times looking up
so many doors to open
it’s not a mature state of being. it’s very fearful,
the first few days after the molt. you can go back
in time for these. remember the passion which with you
would have defended your fresh skin at twenty
in basements, now a tall proud parent in basements no more
In the tradition of the great Sunday Morning Funny Papers, Sunshine and Wind is proud to present an abstract cartoon. Classic one panel action happening here. Best caption gets a free sticker!
One of the things we’ve missed most during the pandemic is live music, and we suspect we’re not alone. Whether it was going to see a friend’s band, going to an open mic to listen and share, or just dropping by a bar that had reliably good acts and checking out what was going on, the lack of live music has left one of the bigger holes in our life. This week at S&W we’re dipping into our archives to celebrate some of the great live performances we’ve witnessed over the years.
Around the corner from the late great Spike Hill in Williamsburg lies a relatively new venue, Gran Torino. They picked up the Sidewalk Monday night open mic after Sidewalk Closed in 2019. The pandemic hit before it could get any kind of sustained momentum, but we were still lucky enough to be in the audience for this great performance by Prewar Yardsale.
Prewar Yardsale always makes us think of that Mark E Smith quote: “If it’s just me and your granny on bongos, it’s the Fall” Well – Prewar has a bucket, not bongos, but it’s no less punk, and proof that it’s not more instruments that make songs sound good. With just a guitar and a bucket, Prewar Yardsale creates songs and shows as alive and fully realized as any traditional “full” band setups. Here we feature a new song of theirs, at least it was new at the time.
Sunshine and Wind 