wild, wild life

in the bardo //

David Byrne, in a scene from his directorial debut “True Stories” (1986)

Wild, Wild Life

After the Talking Heads

In the bardo, we lay together,

motion pictures flickering

across the sky. I’m not surprised

to find David Byrne here with us:

cowboy hat and red convertible,

wide-eyed curiosity breaking

the fourth wall down. We shape

myth and meaning with our breath—

one resounding note. Past prophecies

spill out in everlasting technicolor.

The song is changing, the future

is falling apart. It’s scientific,

they say. The way I cry when I want

you closer. The way a hummingbird’s heart

is five times bigger than a human’s,

proportional to weight and size.

It knows something we don’t.

Add it all up with me: daymoon, undone

sheets, lips and limbs, the light

from hands that pull us here.

Every yes. The gravity of every choice.

The film will keep rolling. We’ll keep

forgetting. But maybe, one slow morning

on a mountain top, we’ll look up

and see this place again as it really is.

—hannah eve levy

The title and last lines of this poem reference lyrics and a quote from “True Stories,” a 1986 film by David Byrne.