riel Sturchio

SETTLE ME LANDLOCKED

settle me landlocked
equator
the warm saint of sunsets
are your hands
seeing this all
bright yellow forsythia bush glowing dusk
bring me full bloom undercover inward my unraveling looking
skyward whispers
fear of change
becoming night animal
unpierced satin
the eclipsing bud of insecurity
sucking the sweet out of the sun

fielding the new moon bites my
head, dark
licks around the nectar house
where i keep the bright promise to myself
about how nothing matters like your hands, your skin
my imagination fills lonely
my body blushes new blue blood with blossoms:
fear and hurt

i press nights for sweetness, drink atlantic swimming
kiss "we" into my vocabulary until it becomes body (mine, [h]ours)
the "we" i dream of is exciting
sleeps with salt
smells like rosemary, mint and gin
a garden in all seasons, constellating its own celebration
with yellow petals strewn
across the wet field that turns over
so slowly the day becomes new and newer
and newness changes

what does it mean to notice
the thick air chapping the afternoon glow
when it is yellow
hold
the way a child does an animal
we fall away so quietly 

notice, is an environmental surround sound piece played on a 5.1 speaker/sub system. the track is ~ 7:30 minutes long and plays on a loop. The audience is welcome to walk around the room, sit on the bench, or experience a combination of both. 

This video is in part a documentation of the installation.

The track contains self-authored prose, from my poem "SETTLE ME LANDLOCKED," field recordings from various locations including New York, Santa Fe, and Austin, as well as original musical components.

Throughout the day shadows and highlights are uniquely and happenstancially cast by sunlight, nearby traffic, and wind.

Featuring the voice of: Yuki Tanaka and Helyn Rain