The Wolfswork song cycle weaves current and ancient threads of history into a philosophical fabric held taut by the tensions of mortality and immortality.

Wolfswork - Art Schop

from the Greek . Lycurgus, apocryphal founder of the ancient city state, Sparta; now defunct . themes . permanence, impermanence, the inevitable repetition of hope, striving, stumbling, failing, and death . we strive because we are human . we fail because we are human . we continue because continuance is immortal

1. begun

squirrel on roof . impenetrable . romney . winehouse . brain science

he lies on roof black tar he lies . in sun his eyes his eyes in sun . begun it is begun . her thought it speaks in colored peaks . in colored peaks she speaks . her eyes they rest, her being done . he waits in shade in shade he waits in stone his eyes his eyes in stone . begun he is begun . her mind it speaks in colored bands . in colored bands it speaks . her hands they rest, her being done

2. the decision

auster boycotts Turkey . erdogan shrugs . disgust . self-impasse

so, come, don't come . you won't be missed . you think I'll sink without you alone, I wash my hands . in winter glaze . the years asunder . for all the nights when I mis-stepped . as mothers wept for my invention . for all the days I wasted; gone, into oblivion . so, come, don't come . you won't be missed

3. turmoil

greek debt crisis . papandreou . Lycurgus of Sparta . ancient
Greece: inequality . tension between wealthy and the 99%
bertrand russell: Lycurgus is a mythical person his name meaning
'he who brings into being the works of a wolf'
(Gr. Lykos = wolf, ergon = work) . indian nude models in danger

Lycurgus rest . don't raise your weary head . let out that sigh . your work is done . Lycurgus rest . let close those hooded eyes . don't stir your breath . your work is done . her veil she lifts . in modest shifts . the murmur of her skin revealed . Lycurgus howl, no passing now set free those hands . your work is done

4. regret

mark fields, 23 years at Ford, future CEO . what substance in success

I will live long . faith will be my dignity . hope my fast immunity . to all that comes . I will live well . with love my table bountiful . in joy my body whole and strong . no poison feared . you will regret these words . you will forget these words . in the end . and when I die . I'll sigh so for a life replent . my bounty rightly spent . in progress' name

5. it’s done

strauss kahn, escaped prosecution, now under
investigation re prostitution ring . chris brown back with rhianna
(wedding cake) on rudd: ‘his enemy is anyone who stands in his way’

already free the sun has trodden down the leaves . inexplicable it labors through the day . what are you now that I have shook you from my heart . another wanting bead that urges me to cling . it's done, it's done, but fuck me if it's only just begun . it's done, it's done; it's only begun . have I never felt so able to unload you . never felt so needful of your trade . safe in my mind I turn the thought that I've become . I turn the thought that's safe when in my mind