the corners of glued pages
are turning brown with age
years have grown the children in the pictures
life has aged their eyes
time has hardened their hearts
to the beauty of a back yard
the serenity of a home surrounded by trees
there's enough money for everyone to share
but fat cats keep us from being free
and our focus is on green
money
not grass
oh to be a child again
to be completely oblivious
to the entire outside world
beyond the safety of the fields and farms
and the rolling hills
as real as the pictures

don't you be sad little little cigarette
i can shield from the cold snowy rain falling on your face
i'll keep you safe little little cigarette
from that rude gust of wind rudely biting your fingers
i'll keep you warm little little cigarette
i'll wrap you up in scarves and warm downy jackets
i'll nurture you my little cigarette
your toxic love fills every corner of my lungs
i'll be there for you ma petite cigarette
i love to get lost in your tiny ember glow
don't you be sad
don't you be sad
little little cigarette
i'll keep you safe til the very end
safe til there's nothing left to keep safe

the moon was shining bright over the exit sign
the halfway point
the meeting place
the music drew me in
your ghost haunting me over the radio
or was it just the smoke i'd just inhaled
telling me i was thirsty

i felt my heartbeat through my chest
my tire treads pressed against sacred ground
for a first kiss warm with laughter
but cold with memories
i couldn't think straight in that parking lot
i couldn't think straight in that convenient store
i was lost in my skin
and alone with my thoughts

so i left that lonely diner to the freezing rain
i let my engine carry me towards the other halfway home
i'm drowsy and ******
but i hit the ground running
away from the haunted convenient store
away from angry memories
but still thirsty for love
in all the wrong places

it's the morning
after the morning
wake up in my sheets
and only wish for more time to dream

the cold air is rude
and mocks the soft clothes that cover me
that kept me warm in bed
i'm too young to face this cruel world

so i'll just smoke this last cigarette
right till the very end
till the sun's warmth escapes my body
till the ashes fill my lungs
where haven't i been leaving ashes these days
when hasn't everything i touched burst into flames

i guess i'll just wait for the nighttime
cause i can't bare the infidelity of sunlight

when my thoughts are alive
and the stars calm a mind in motion
let's stay in the cold of the twilight
i'll use my flames to keep you warm

why do little boys scream and defy?
why do they kiss the leaves and hug the sky?
where do they go when they close their eyes?
they keep the angels awake when they decide to cry.
why do little boys pretend not to be afraid?
why do they think they are fearsome and brave?
where do they go when they've lost their way?
their soft little eyes beg you to stay.

you're so warm
I don't want to sleep
for fear of losing you
to the night.
you're so comfortable
I don't want you to leave
my bed will grow cold.
if you were mine
I'd never sleep
to keep you safe from the shadows.
you help me burn brighter
my smile just can't go away.
and even as the autumn winds chill
you stay warm for me.

starlight sparkles through the evergreen above our heads
and the freedom I've longed for swims through my veins
I breathe it in
and it sustains me
my toes sink into the soft earth
and my roots wind and spin within each other
like the smoke that unfurls above me

your eyes are like lanterns
their green light leads me across a proverbial bay
like some kind of symbol from literature
my mind is anything but quiet
and yet you remain all that is calm

I hardly know how to speak
your softness distracts me
there's something in the way you laugh
that makes me feel like a child

my world feels brighter
here in this northern air
my lungs feel bigger and stronger today
there's life all around me
and my thoughts are so high lately
and I don't even mind that sometimes you're silent
because all I can do is smile when your name lights up my pocket
and I'm flying free through these warm nights