Contributor: Kharis Lund

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We are lying on a grassy knoll, just you and I
Your green-grey eyes speak of happiness, long lost
Happiness with me
The couple next to us is topless, drinking cheap beer and smoking spliff
You laugh a little and say, “So these are hipsters, eh?”
You in your plaid shirt and bad jeans, me content being sober
We stand out like aliens in the crowd of young drunk stoners
My Father and I

The crowd quiets, and beyond the stage, the sun sets between the Rockies
And the sky is bathed in streams of gold and pink and blue
I lie back on the checkered picnic blanket next to you
Down on the stage, with a beard and voice like some Wisconsin Jesus,
He laughs and begins to sing
The woman beside me is dancing – she’s happy and high as a kite
We jump up and join her, dancing and laughing
My Father and I

“And I told you to be patient, I told you to be fine,”
A million voices reverberate across the hill as it comes alive
We’re swaying together you and I like a dream I always have
But I know this moment is ephemeral.
Tomorrow I’ll wake up and look at my ticket stub
And that day and Justin Vernon’s angelic voice will be but memories
We are back to silence and nothing
My Father and I


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I'm on a quest for happiness and truth and sushi. Sometimes, it's hard to tell which is which.