Perth immediately popped into my head after seeing Bo ride a bike for the first time without any help. I was fortunate to enjoy and capture the moment. I felt joy, but like the song also haunted by the awareness of time, fragility, and what it took to get here. Beirut wrote the song after a breakdown and hospitalization, yet it’s one of the most upbeat tracks on that album.
Listening to this pop song about collapse and getting back up while watching my daughter (methodically) ride a bike brings up many emotions around letting go, my own history of falling, getting hurt and getting back up again.
We all live through our own difficult chapters, but there is something about watching a small person start from zero, unaware of all the weight I hope she never has to carry.
Marching forward but also remembering the loss. This little departure means she is a step away from needing me as much. Seeing her wobble, self-correct, and keep on going is inspiring.
It’s unnerving to feel grief and nostalgia simultaneously.
One is about the future and the other’s about the past.
There will always be hard things but this tiny perfect moment felt easy.
Not of this world
Lean as a shadow
I was in Perth
When I was gathered
Blood on the sand
Paint on the water
I skipped around
As cannon fodder
Last night
I combed the earth
You saw me at my worst
Ragged tires
Burned for miles
I ran until it hurt
Reasons come seasonal
I’ll tell you when I know
See you in an hour
An hour back home
See you in an hour, or more
An hour back home
See you in an hour
Now we’re back home
See you in an hour or more
An hour back home
-Perth by Beirut
