They were so poor,
their children played on dusty roads;
Mother Mary
cleaned her face with her own tears,
the hand
that once touched her became a clinched fist

Ana didn’t want to bring another child into this world,
but a family
was the only way they knew how to live;
they didn't own anything
except the flowers in the window

They need
to learn more about their people;
The only way
she could feed her baby was her body;
She felt safe
until her son needed real food

She prayed
for her body to keep fighting;
fighting for her children
her ******* remained full;
He knew she was kind
but she didn’t feel that way

The dust covered her heart
and the shoes she wore;
so he bought her a dress
even to wear in the hot desert sun
It was red
and fit her like sin
between two people in love

When she wore it
the other women watched quietly
She wore it for a week;
every day without washing
He watched her quietly
knowing she was strong
Then she took the dress off
and kissed Mary’s hand

She gave the dress to her best friend,
Juanita Hernandez;
Juanita washed the dress
while Ana fed her child;
the dress would be shared
because they shared the dust in the air

Their husbands couldn't wait
for their wife’s turn with the dress;
a red dress was for love
and not sin in the desert sun

They were so poor
the dust covered their memories;
but the dress was bright
and they wore it with dignity

A poor woman
is as beautiful as a rich woman
even if her stomach is empty
and her heart has become hard

She saw the other men
look at her when it was her turn;
she knew they wanted her
even though she was so sad,
the dress made them see;
They knew how she could love them,
but instead
she gave it back to Juanita Hernandez

Then she gave thanks to Mary again;
For her children still loved her
and her husband remembered why
he gave her the dress

What I've been afraid of
It changes every ten years
It would have been about dying
Now it's just dying before my time

The only thing that has passed is a memory
The hot flame I once held in my hand
Is now the sand upon which I run
To the ocean to cool the turmoil in my heart
Only the ways of the wild and tameless
Can understand me now

I don't know my fate
I just know my plan
I haven't written anything down
Did you really think I wouldn't remember?

Why were you so sure of yourself
You thought you could find something better
The sun at midnight does not burn
But it knows the path you run
I tried to follow you once
Only a fool can describe you now

All I have to do is look at my children
It's like seeing the moon at night
Nothing else matters anymore
It's all up to me now

I stand with my arms folded
As if I know what to say
It’s no life without a broken heart
We can live longer than we should
The way love fails is too cruel to consider
But what I see in you is how I want to die now

I'm not so weary of life
That I cannot build another future
But when I think of you it's so hard to know
Can I love you enough to keep you?

You cry perfectly
I had to watch
It was so beautiful
Your sadness was so you

It was the end
We both knew it
And what was next
Looking for someone new

I won’t forget
The feeling you made
I can’t leave it behind
The remains of what’s true

Your tears so deep
But you wiped them away
Your smile was your revenge
That’s when I knew

There is nothing left
Only to know the past
Walking away from sorrow
I watched a bird that flew

maybe it's just holes in my ears
i never did fill them up with gold
maybe it's just the color of my skin
i didn't try to draw it
you have no idea
it's what you tried to say
what i should have said
are you so weak
that a disagreement
makes you want to **** me
that's why i have holes
fill them with your hatred
and it will fall out the other side
try to rub it on my skin
and the ways of my father
will tell you that I am a man

I wouldn’t have thought it
I’ve never been there
So I had to talk about it
With someone who had

Sometimes I laugh without humor
That’s all you can do
Letting it go without anger
That’s how you keep a friend

The sun’s one less problem now
I had to work my way around
I once loved it too much
But that sin is ready to forgive

I like psychedelic butterflies
They can see the air they dodge
Murals welcome them home
It’s up to us to remember them

I’m going to let you see
I’ll stand there while you tell me
What is it that I do to you
Those are the eyes I will believe

There’s a cure I have in mind
I swallowed the pill before we met
Remission is not enough
I’m never going back there again

It’s a song always in my head
I let it happen but I don’t know when
I hear it all the time
Not the same but the feeling instead

I can fade in and out
If you catch me on the bend
Just don’t let your ego cry about it
It’s important to know where I've been

She cried how can I do that
I asked do what
She said you know what I mean
I said when it wears off you won't ask

I wish I knew how to take you there
It's a lonely valley of discovery
I can't speak to you while the music plays
When I tell you my eyes will then become yours

in the dark
a life of its own
is there a way to see you
it’s alright
it’s your own mystery
and you know why

the soft spot in my heart for you
is anywhere you decide to look
you watch me
in the middle of a song
or what the passion I live for
you know it could be about you
but you have be shared
the life I discover
is too narrow a hole to crawl

i can’t seem to decide
the monsters are so familiar
i understand them now
they can’t help themselves
so i ask a simple question
is love worth being eaten alive?

The flock exploded over my head
Diving down to the water below
What was once an empty gaze
Suddenly became sixty years gone

The candle burns quickly now
So I try to slow my breathe
I do not want flickering shadows
The erosion of light makes me sad

I want to walk in a cemetery
It’s the only way to really see
They have become who they are
They cannot defend themselves

I want decisions without influence
Too much is reserved for youth
What is left in the time I have left
I must make it mean something

I had something I wanted to say
But it just wouldn’t write itself
To see birds flying so easily
It’s only silence that knows humility

I wonder if someone would listen in
If only there was another line
They could hear the sound of my voice
And tell me why I cry when I pray