A Beast

I do not speak of the ache in my shoulders

They bear the burdens I willingly paid for

You have your own they live deep in the folds

Of your cynical mind like mice

I have been bit by them two times or thrice

And the skin on my hand became tough to the touch

Now they sleep deeply you oil the crease of my palm

In all my dreams I’m more careful than kind

Keep my two hands clean and my tongue on ice

I dare you and dare you to fool me twice

I’d pay any price to be right

'Cause you didn’t speak until it got real bad

You didn’t speak, then you broke what you had

Let time run its course

I never could forget, but I’ll forgive like a dog

Somewhere in my bones these wounds they make their homes

But I’m glad you’re home

I wait by the door, licking the floor

How long can a man ignore a beast and her sores?

I know a girl who makes bare of the world

Because the light that she wears takes more eyes than is fair

She holds the weight of a heart that yearns foremost to love

I saw her love and read her lover’s love

She burned red, I turned green, did I know anything

But when push came to shove, love it wasn’t enough

We know nothing

'Cause he didn’t speak until it got real bad

He didn’t speak, are we to go mad?

Must time run its course?

I never could forget, but I’ll forgive like a dog

Somewhere in my bones these wounds they make their homes

But I’m glad you’re home

I wait by the door licking the floor

How long can a man ignore a beast and her sores?