Pete Atkin sings
Between Us There Is Nothing

by Clive James and Pete Atkin,
from Midnight Voices

[Much more at www.peteatkin.com]
LYRIC:
Between us
The streets are swept away
The tablecloth is all the world
The rest is just the passing day
Outside of this are Soho and the far-flung islands
The stripjoints in the alleys
                    and the grainhulks anchored in the bay

Between us
The wristwatch comes to rest
The sunlight's in your hands and eyes
By which the bread and wine are blessed
Away from here are Soho and the green seas in the west
The trainee seagulls contour-flying
                    through the swell's long trough and crest

          Between us there is nothing but the shadow
          Of the future that will never let us go
          To be together
          Between us there is nothing but the snowline
          Of the country where you will not be mine
          Its savage weather

Between us
A wineglass learns to cry
But only we will reach the end
The rest is just a passing-by
Outside of this are Soho and the mangrove deltas
The dustbins in the doorways
                    and the Spanish goldtrails in the sky

          Between us there is nothing but a promise
          Of the future that will make no place for us
          To be together
          Between us there is nothing but the condor
          And the miles of air towards the valley floor
          A falling feather

Between us
There is nothing