I started my college experience with the idea that I was going to do everything. Everything for myself and nothing less. I thought merit was gold. But that still doesn't explain why I had panic attacks in my shower, late second semester feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't stand up to get clean. That doesn't explain the panic in my fathers face when he saw his pile of a son sprawled in anguish on the bathroom tile. That doesn't explain the weeks I had to spend shower-less, in bed, torn open and bruised, alone. And as I sat in the living room of my childhood home the walls scream out a 9-week chant
Failure, failure, failure
Flowers bloom in my lungs,
Shivering sharp scarce breath,
Shallow chest,
White knuckled and tasting death
The last people to stay in this room died in hospital beds like the one that I'm in
I remember faces
I remember places
I remember gnarled smiles, curled fingers pointing
Smell of sweat and copper hung thick in the air
Maybe I'll die in August
They don't call em dog days for nothin
Oklahoma duo Plain Speak serve up radiant power pop on their latest LP, surrounding sugar-sweet vocal harmonies with pealing chords. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 18, 2023