Thawing Dawn

No one knows you quite the way that I do
No one knows me, not especially you
Find the river and deliver my remains to it soon
This I request of you

Said a person that I knew from my sleep
"Savage, I'm free, but I ain't cheap
The thing you wake with has a function, either beat it or bleed"
What could I say to them

Man on fire, and he's heading for truth
Watched him burning as I sat on the stoop
A couple seconds felt like hours 'til I finally moved
To beat the flames from him

Most religion is as far from faith
As the sun is from the shadows it shapes
Well I can hardly say for certain if I'm trapped or escaped
When I'm away from you

When the summer draws the bugs in the house
And an acquaintance takes the form of a spouse
I need you wildly, as the bluejay needs a tune it can sing
Into the afternoon


Like a mother she reminds
With the ashes on her head
Dancing drunkly to the radio
As she welcomes back the dead

Twenty hours and I'm twelve in the hole
With thoughts of lightning as a beautiful dull
Across the island they are floating slow in luminous balls
Inviting me to cross

Started drinking to meet strangers and folks
Who'd listen to me, who'd nod when I spoke, but
These days when I'm thirsty I don't mind staying home
Drinking away the blues

Started smoking to keep up with my friends
I learned to love the feeling when I'm breathing it in
But I'm a lonely lighthouse shining by the sea on a cliff
Dragging in solitude


Of all the pieces I've combined
Still the cruelest mixture yet
Is the softness of a thawing dawn
And the hardness of regret