_____ by T E Vaugner
Sometimes I think you feel that we are hopeless
Like Teddy Kennedy and Chappaquiddick
This thing will follow you for the rest of your life
But like the old folks say
We all have our crosses to bare and I think
The part you played in the demise of our relationship is yours
Before I met you the rain had not fallen for a long time
And my earth was dry
My trees had all withered and died and someone
Had gathered their remains into a pile
Long branches like bony, brown fingers sticking every which way
Pointing accusations at invisible perpetrators
The ghosts of all the people that done me wrong
And there it stood this little altar built to my despair
Slowly bleaching itself white
In the perpetual noon day sun that was my sorrow
The wind was my only companion
Whispering her secrets, whistling her tunes
Blowing me kisses that I could no longer feel
She spoke of the world around me
All that was cool and lush and green
And I believed her
Because I could not see these fantastic sights for myself
I could not leave my arid home
But you were from the cold lands
Lead here by the hope of something warmer
Searching for something that would thaw you
That would make you sleep
So when you saw my pile of sticks you struck your match
And I burned and your ice melted
And when the last icicle fell you stretched
Smiling
Released
From your hypothermic prison
When you walked away you didn't say
You'd never be back so I waited
I sent the wind to find you
But she said you were happy where you were
And that you told her you did not need an old pile of ashes
I was destroyed but I did not die
I was deserted but I did not feel alone
Because in your appalling way you freed me
And I am forever grateful
I only hold you responsible for striking the match
It was I who saved my own life
And now that my world is alive again
I am no longer afraid of my past
I am civil when the ghosts howl
Yearning for my company again
But I do not let them in
They are bad guests
And always overstay their welcome
Therefore it stands to reason that the two of us
Could at least be cordial now
Time has passed and we are both better off
We are both happy in our own peculiar ways
The patient survived despite the cure
And this is a good thing
Maybe this song will calm the anger in my heart
Maybe this song will lighten your burden
Copyright © 2000. Used by permission of author. All Rights Reserved.
