I know why God is there
When nights blow cool wind
Onto the stringy hair of paupers
And on streetlights along purple roads.

When eyes are dimly lit
By the moonlight’s grace
Under a sky full of magnetic tears,
There is God, and he’s there
To deal out soap bars
And washcloths
To ***** cheeks
So that, for once, dust can go
Back to dust
Without leaving behind bodies
For wolves to feed on.

I know why God is there
When the hungry lie down to die,
When the restless beg for sleep,
When murderers beg for forgiveness,
When beggars dip their hands
Into pools of holy water
On sidewalks of sleepless cities.

I know why God is there,
And the reason is at the end of a long rope
Hidden somewhere deep underground,
Dangling above the fountains of prayers.

there are people i've forgotten
some for better, some for worse
in places i have been along the way

some were good and some were rotten
some sow's ears and some silk purse
there are many that i think of every day

Take the time, give everyone a chance
Take a stranger, and treat them like a friend
Life is nothing more than a big dance
And you just don't know when the music's gonna end

i've had meals with lowly beggars
I've sat down with queens and kings
Life's  funny ...if i really had to say

that the people i remember
of all my time here on this earth
are the sow's ears,
and the beggars come what may

Take the time, give everyone a chance
Take a stranger, and treat them like a friend
Life is nothing more than a big dance
And you just don't know when the music's gonna end

some have angels on their shoulders
some have devil's in their heart
but, you will not know, until you let them in

but of the people i've forgotten
and those kept close in my heart
the best ones never care what might have been

Take the time, give everyone a chance
Take a stranger, and treat them like a friend
Life is nothing more than a big dance
And you just don't know when the music's gonna end

Wandering around
Nowhere to go
Nothing to hide
Empty

No one wants to help
Think I'm gonna hurt them
But, they are so wrong
Just searching for acceptance

And a place to sleep
A warm place
With a soft, comfy bed
And maybe a pillow or two

No one wants to help
Think I'm gonna hurt them
But, they are so wrong
Just searching for acceptance

And some food to eat
Preferably some home-cooked
But, I quote:
"Beggars can't be choosers"

No one wants to help
Think I'm gonna hurt them
But, they are so wrong
Just searching for acceptance

Maybe a bit of money
No, I'm not gonna buy *****
And no, I don't smoke
Just want to get to a long lost relative

But

They think I've got some hidden agenda
To **** them daughter
Or suddenly pull out a gun
Maybe run away with stolen goods

This city never sleeps.
There are two cities in one.
I can show you both,
if you want to open your eyes.

Have you ever been to Heaven?
How about Hell?
I can show you devils,
just follow me there.

They are dressed like angels,
they have pretty smiles.
If you kiss their lips,
you will never die.

I can show you angels,
with big frightening horns.
If you bow in front of them,
the world will be yours.

It felt as though the humidity itself
carried a hint of liquor as we walked
out into the night, wanting only to escape
our lives for a little.
Deep down in Vieux Carre
twisted brass clashed with a piano
running half step from the crowded clubs
on Frenchman Street.
We filled our lungs with the city
and found her to be like certain kinds
of dangerous doses--
intoxicating.

It was our second night
and the more we drank
the more I began to see glimpses
of the specters spoken of by locals.
They linger in my peripheral,
watching me with their sunken eyes.
You could faintly hear them moan,
only in defeated tones
and their collective scowl danced
in the heavy air of summer
as though it were a part from
all that jazz.

In the stranger hours of morn
I was approached by a ghost
a few blocks off Bourbon.
He offered up nothing but his ***** palms
in hopes of some false salvation.
I wrestled a dollar from my pocket
and passed it on to him,
only to watch him fruitlessly grasp at it
before it slide through his ghostly hands
to the floor below.
He looked down at the dollar
all helpless-like and he said
"It’s been slipping through my fingers
like dat for years now
and ain't nobody help’n me."

I walked from him, realizing then
why I had needed this trip,
I needed to remember all the love in my life
because the only difference between
me and the ghosts of N'awlins
was someone cared about me,
and I cared enough about them
not to destroy myself.

Bitter shouting remedies
Wailing in the streets
Beggars wanting more than just
The crumbs off royal seats
Fancy ******* lunatics
Brainwashing people like twits
So ******* what
If I'm female
And want to ***** her ****?

Whenever I travelled
I saw men living from empty cups
Their life on their knees
Must have hurt

They were given a family
They once must have thought that they would stand
And command the crowds
But they pled to them instead

I saw only once
A woman before an empty cup
Head bowed and belly empty
Call me sexist, but
She was the subject of my charity

It seems to me
The streets are full of those
Who grew to hate life
But she had the potential
To make two lost souls from one

Call me sexist, but
I wanted to raise her from the streets
Lest she raise another
Child of the lamplight
From an empty cup