You gave them all hope
When hope was their need
You saved them from the rope
And you planted the seed
That freedom was won
That the future was theirs
All the bad times were gone
There would be no more tears

And the planes overhead
And the boots on the ground
And the guns in their hands
Made a beautiful sound
And the women they cried
And their children ran free
And their men were alive
And life was as it should be

The years long dragged on
And the naysayers said
And the green men agreed
With a nod of their head
The future was signed
With a flick of a wrist
And one last hope resigned
And was lost in the mist

And the planes overhead
Took the boots from the ground
As the guns in their hands
Made a terrible sound
And the women they cried
For their children to be free
For their men to be alive
For life to be as it had been

And the women they cried
For their children to be free
For their men to be alive
For life to be as it had been

You left tiny pieces of yourself
on the dance floor last night
I only noticed because
when I began to sweep
they were still shining
bright

Red is the rose
and the polish on my toes

Red is the kiss on my cheek
and my dress– truly chic

Red is also blood
and bodies in the mud

Red is red
Love and dead.

For a portion of my life I’ve lived
Inside this little box
Where everything I do is safe
And this tragic life can rock
But fate, it seems, had other plans
And took it in her wake
And now I sit, weak and exposed
And feel like a mistake
I can’t seem to remember now
A time when life was good
The future gets no brighter
Only harder to endure
I miss my box, where everything
Was perfect and exact
Where nothing was ever scary
Where nothing ever attacked.
So as I curl up in a ball
And let the fear sink in
Don’t pity me, nor rescue
….. for I fear I’m dead within.