Love Cuts the Strings

the first thing that happened was the river overflowed

the water running through the streets and was sweet and cold

i knelt by the water like a doe by a stream

punch-drunk, snowblind, as though the whole thing were a bad dream

and then love pulled out the heavy artillery

kypris took the horses by the bit for the morning ride

i count my blessings, but you can only be expected to count so high

when love cuts the strings

i smeared myself with pennyroyal to keep the hounds at bay

you poked your head out of an alley half a block away

and i recognized you, though i'm not sure how

and the air turned red around you

as a dull chill came down over me

and then love summoned up the infantry

and the green-eyed goddess got ready for all out war

and i'd count my blessings,

but i don't even know what the word blessing means

when love cuts the strings

yeah!