Beautiful Swimmers by Erich Zann Lyrics

The veil of the sky flutters uselessly:
It hides only air, then thinner air, then no air
And the sentinel moon drifts aimlessly:
It guards only emptiness. It guards only emptiness

Between this world and the upper world—
If there were an upper world—
There could be no passage
I saw you standing in the dark
With slackened face and limp-hung arms

Don't tell me you saw it
Don't tell me it's waiting
Don't tell me of incalling, infolding, inbreaking

In this upstairs room, the membrane seems so thin
Or not even thin, but to exist in the first place
The motionless clock, the greasy light, the broken plates, the piles of clothes
Are either signs of a passing age or heralds of a coming one

When I woke up alone, I felt such an awful relief
And I rushed down the stairs to feel the night on my skin
And saw you running through the street
The pavement clawing your bare feet
The veil of the sky lifts pointlessly:
The knock at the door, the ringing phone, with no one there
But in the hiss of the empty line, you discern a distant song
The song is about itself

If there is no passage, if there is no upper world
Then this is the upper world, then this is the passage
I saw you sleeping in the field
The peaceable beasts stretched at your heels

Now tell me you saw it
Now tell me it’s waiting
I saw you see it
I saw you see it all