The Robin's Tiny Throat

I woke up one morning heard
a robin's song.
I asked that robin "Why do you sing?"

"It was a voice whose rhymes are worlds
That made my song for me
How could I not sing?"

I woke up one morning heard
a robin's song
I asked that robin "Who made your throat?"

"That same hand that flies
a million dawns
Made my tiny throat and wrote my songs
How could I not sing?"

I built an arbor and I asked the vine
"How come you grow so tall?"

"If I can make it above the wall
That same hand that holds out
hope for all
Will gild me in the morning sky
And though I cannot sing
That hand a gentle wind will bring
And make a rustling lullaby
For milky sleeping babes
How could I not grow?"

I woke up one morning and
I asked the sky
"How can you bear such emptiness?"

"For that bright eye that looks
out and smiles
And makes my night her day
What would I not bear?"

I woke up one morning and I heard her voice
She called me by my name
"What would I not give to be called her child?
What would I not give to be called her friend?"

I'm gonna wake up one morning
I'm gonna see her face
Smiling down on me
That robin's song and that morning sky
Are all the hope I need
I don't know how and I don't know why
But I'm gonna wake up one morning
And I'll see her face
Smiling Down on me
I'm gonna wake up one morning
I'm gonna wake up one morning
I'm gonna wake up one morning

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Safe Inside the Day

As songs that go forgotten
Are found, remembered, loved, and sung again;
The father of all kindness,
The lover of our souls,
Will come to find us.
And if I can remain there,
And if I can remain there I will stay.

And I will live another day,
I'll live another day,
And I will live another day.

A smallness there's no shame in.
A gift that's bigger than the box it came in.
And if I can remain there
In that heaven of your eyes
And find a tiny paradise of no goodbyes,
And if I can remain there,
And if I can remain there I will stay.

And I will live another day,
I'll live another day,
And I will live another day.
Safe

Safe inside
Where angels soft as kisses ride
On gentle horses
Safe inside the day
Inside the song
Safe inside
With laughing babe and smiling bride
On gentle horses
Safe inside the day
Inside the song
Safe inside

And if I can remain there,
And if I can remain there I will stay.

And I will llive another day,
I'll live another day,
And I will live another day.

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A Compass of the Light

She flies so free who flies for home
With sweetness weighed
A million springs

Frayed wings that speak to bees unborn
You shall sleep the winter warm
You shall sleep the winter warm

In the dance of eights
I'm a compass of the light
In the dance of eights
I know where every blossom lies
And look for them with all five eyes

In the dance of eights
I'm a compass of the light
A compass of a light that sings

She flies so free who flies for home
With sweetness weighed
A million springs

Frayed wings that speak to bees unborn
You shall sleep the winter warm
You shall sleep the winter warm

In the dance of eights
I'm a compass of the light
In the dance of eights
I know where all the flowers are
And how many and how far

In the dance of eights
I'm a compass of the light
A compass of a light that sings

She flies so free who flies for home
With sweetness weighed
A million springs

That great keeper of the stars
Must keep bees as well
How he might need our honey
And how badly
Who can tell
Who can tell

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When I Get Home

Playing in the bricks and the foundry dust
I lost track of time

I'm gonna get it when I get home
He's gonna kill me when I get home

That love should turn to bitterness
All so naturally
Poison from my pretty song
Turned to ruin me

I'm gonna get when I get home
He's gonna kill me when I get home

I know you must have held me once
I saw a photograph
Safe and happy in your arms
A smiling god of wrath

I'm gonna get it when I get home
He's gonna kill me when I get home

One sunny judgment day
I lost track of time
Playing in the bricks and the foundry dust
I lost track of time

I'm gonna get it when I get home
He's gonna kill me when I get home

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Regifted Light

I count the ages by the night
And never by the day
For I cannot perceive the light
Except in gentle ways

The moon is my redeemer
The moon is my befriending Jesus

His blessing glistens on my back
And multiplies
It multiplies
As I regift it
To your eyes

From sun to moon to me
And to your eyes
Your eyes

With each regifting of the light
Its gentleness increases

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The only Bones that Show

I'm lookin' out from eyes that roll back white
And talk in tongues of blood and bite
And the only song I know
Is the callin' of a crow
And teeth are the only bones that show

Sometimes you've just got to climb
Big trees in wintertime
And when you're up there in the cold
hopin' that your knot will hold
And swingin' in the snow
That's when you know
That teeth are the only bones that show

I wondered, "What's it like to be a man?"
Bent nails
In a rusty can
And the sound those nails make
When you give that can a shake
Will make you wish that it wasn't so
But teeth are the only bones that show

Sometimes you've just got to wait
Cold years of hooks and bait
Unkind miles from heaven's big hello
And teeth are the only bones that show

And the rabbit comes out of the hole
And the rabbit goes around the tree
And the rabbit goes back in the hole
Back in the hole again
Back in the hole
Back in the hole
Back in the hole again

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Big Titty Bee Girl (from Dino Town)

I'm a Big Titty Bee Girl, From Dino Town
And you can take it from me, girl,
If you're sleepin? around
And you happen to meet an albino
You should keep him around
'Cause you just can't keep a good albino down

You can torment him
You can beat him til he cries
You can repeatedly molest him and make fun of his eyes
Get him naked, Break his toe
And throw
A rock at him
You can mock him
Make him a laughing stock
And take a sock at him

But you just can't keep a good albino down
I'm a big titty bee girl from Dino Town

You hit him with a bat
You can shoot him with a gun
You can take away his hat
and leave him out in the sun

But you just can't keep a good albino down
I'm a big titty bee girl from Dino Town

An evil albino will give you a sting
But an albino that is true is a marvelous thing
You can take him out and lynch him pinch
A log on him
Tie a sausage to his dick and sick
Your dog on him.

But you just can't keep a good albino down
I'm a big titty bee girl from Dino Town

You can poop on his pie
You can piss in his sink
And even if you spit in his eye
He'll still be in the pink

'Cause you just can't keep a good albino down
I'm a big titty bee girl from Dino Town
I'm a big titty bee girl from Dino Town

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Look What The Wind Blew In

When they see me coming all my friends will say
Look what the wind blew in, hey
Look what the wind blew in

And I won't show up empty handed, no
I've got a tight little fist of gold
I've got a tight little gist of gold

Where I leave off and you begin
I don't want to know
No, I don't want to know
Darling, I don't want to know

Like the breath to a heart all-welcoming
To a heart all welcoming I'll go
And when they see me coming
All my friends will say
Look what the wind blew in, hey
Look what the wind blew in

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Black But Comely

I'm black but comely
As a night shot with stars
I'm black but comely
As a night shot with stars
And I'm not a tree of sticks
No, I'm not a tree of sticks
But a forest of hemlocks and beeches
Of waters dark as wine from boundless reaches
Black but comely
As a night shot with stars

I tried to find you
And I missed you by a mile

The soldiers found me
And they took me for a whore

If I can't have you
I can love you just the same

I'm black but comely
As the smoke of home
I'm black but comely
As the smoke of home
And I'm not a tree of sticks
No. I'm not a tree of sticks
But a forest of hemlocks and beeches
Of waters dark as wine from boundless reaches

Black but comely
As a night shot with stars
As a night shot with stars

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As Morning Holds a Star

There must be something wrong
For love's not choking on her song

There must be some mistake
When robins wake a winter day
There must be some mistake

Your smile
The horizon of my heart

To stammer out a day
Like a baby first time talking

Here I am
It's me
I'm here

And I'll hold you
As morning holds a star
If morning never held a star before
And I'll hold you
In grateful arms that sing
No more sad songs
No more
No more night skies
I've got a sunrise

An unquiet heart
A quieting hand has stilled
An empty cradle filled
No more sad songs

No more sad songs, no more
No more night skies, I've got a sunrise
A sunrise
A sunrise
I've got a sunrise

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Love's Small Song

Love's small song
Love's small song
Though my love is far away
I shall sing and wake the day

Love's small song
Love's small song
Though my love is ages gone
I shall sing love's small song
I shall sing and wake the dawn

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Book of Songs for Anne Marie

I'll make a book of songs for my Anne Marie
With every good beginning and every grateful end
And every grateful end to close upon a world of good
My arms to close upon a world of good

As nature's best pretense as her sweetest lie
That branch's furthest bud to reach a winter sky
To reach a winter sky and close upon a world of good
My arms to close upon a world of good

A garden gate of arms for a fertile field
I'll find a man to hold you as a fountain sealed
As a fountain sealed and close upon a world of good
My arms to close upon a world of good

As sunlight comes to sorry stone
So come, my love
And take this sorriest stone of all
To find a grateful place
That warm and sunlit wall
My arms to close upon a world of good
My arms to close upon a world of good

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Lilacs

With words that reach from star to stone
And lies as true as nature's own
My friends and I will sing a sea of merciful days

For the Lilacs have come
That bloom the whole year round
Friends remembered and lovers found
And lovers found

Arise, my love, and come away
For the winter's ruinous work is done
Arise my love and come away
For the earth has heard the robin's song
And welcomed every word
And welcomed every word

My friends and I will sing a sea of merciful days

For the lilacs have come
That bloom the whole year round
Friends remembered and lovers found
And lovers found

So good
Beyond all wishing
That even as we slept
Small voices, sweet to sing,
Did sing a promise kept

My friends and I will sing a sea of merciful days
For the lilacs have come
That bloom the whole year round
Friends remembered and lovers found
And lovers found

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The Earlie King

Bring me a whiskey
Get me a beer
What's that song I like to hear

"The dreamy child
The father proud and strong"

I kind of like that song
the one about
The Earlie King

Daddy I can see him.
His coat so shiny bright
Behind us in the night
I can see The Earlie King

Daddy can you hear them
They're singing just for me
Can't you hear?
Can't you see?
The daughters of the The Earlie King

Spill the Milk
Steal the Meat
Life is Bitter and Death is Sweet
All the Bacon That a Boy Can Eat
Come Along With Me

And the bad bells ring
And the bad bells ring
And I am runnin'
Still runnin' from The Earlie King

And there's nothin' there
Nothin' at all
Fairy tales and falderal
Nothin' to hear
And nothin' to see
Wind in a willow
Moonlight in a tree

The dreamy child
The father proud and strong
I kind of like that song
The one about The Earlie King

Daddy, can you hear me?
It's got so hard to speak
I'll kiss your bristly cheek
And go with The Earlie King

Up from the table
My brother's tiny soul
All gone
Swallowed whole
Taken by The Earlie King

Spill the Milk
Steal the Meat
Life is Bitter and Death is Sweet
All the Bacon That a Boy Can Eat
Come Along With Me

And the bad bells ring
And the bad bells ring
And I am runnin'
Still runnin' from The Earlie King

And there's nothin' there
Nothin' at all
Fairy tales and falderal
Nothin' to hear
And nothin' to see
Wind in a willow
Moonlight in a tree

And the bad bells ring
And the bad bells ring
The bad bells ring

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So Bad

Jesus got my Mom in there
And beat her up so bad
He beat her up so bad
Who can save us now that God's gone mad?
Jesus got my Mom in there
And beat her up so bad
He beat her up so bad

Who can save me from the witch
That lives across the way?
She lives across the way
No one will believe a word I say
Jesus got my Mom in there
And beat her up so bad
He beat her up so bad

Who can save me from the man
That wheels the grinding stone?
He wheels the grinding stone
Watching as the witches burn my bones
Jesus got my Mom in there
And beat her up so bad
He beat her up so bad

From my brow she brushed my hair
Like grass from tiny grave
Like grass from tiny grave
How I thought that fretful hand could save!
Jesus got my Mom in there
And beat her up so bad
He beat her up so bad

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April Day

Look at me
I'm an April day
Kiss me
I'm a month of them
Hold me
I'm a year of May
Look at me

Twenty fingers weave my clothes
Knit from kisses first and fresh
Look at me I've got twenty toes
Look at me I'm an April day

I know what let's do!
I shall be the moon
And you can be the man on me
Sweeping up such tides of love
That rivers backwards rush
And seas will swirl
From wishing they were us

Perched upon a prickly branch
Look at me I'm a wee fat wren
Ecoute moi! I'll sing in French
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Look at me
I'm pretty again
Look at me I'm an April day

Take me where first kisses go
Let me lie wherever they fall
Like apple blossoms mocking snow
I shall mock the spring and say
Look at me
I'm pretty again
Look at me I'm an April day

I know what let's do!
I shall be the moon
And you can be the morning sun
Come to see what so much love has done

Cover me with a cloudless sky
Look at me I'm a waning ruin
A kiss
To kiss the night good-bye
Look at me
Look at me
Look at me
I'm an April day

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The Dance of Diminishing Possibilities

Bobby Slot and Freddy Weiss
Were not so nice
But I like their names a lot
So I'll say'em twice
Bobby Slot and Freddy Weiss
achieved a modest renown
When they took an axe
And went to town
On an old upright
And it was love
It was love at first sight

It's romance on the street
Where harp and hacksaw meet
On the day
When the boy in every butcher on the block
Comes out to play
One last cast iron kitten on the keys
In the dance of diminishing possibilities

My father's affection for his crowbar collection
Was freudian to say the least
But there's a beauty in that beast
And there's a girl inside that boy
And my daddy's crowbars are his pride and joy

And there's a harp in that piano
And there's a girl inside that boy
And my daddy's crowbars are his pride and joy.

Theres's no need to rehearse
It's just like Jesus in reverse
Makin' many from the one
No need for TV
When the whole family
Gathers round the old upright fro some old time fun.

It's romance on the street
Where harp and hacksaw meet
On the day when the boy in every butcher on the block
Come's out to play
One last cast iron kitten on the keys
In the dance of diminishing possibilities

If a man with an axe
Axe you out for lunch
Say "no thanks, but thanks a bunch"
Even if he says "pretty please"
It's the dance of diminishing possibilities.

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Half A Chance

From withered grass
And broken branches
You made my heart a robin's nest
How many mornings would I wait
If there were even half a chance
That one might find you in my arms
I'd smile a sky from East to West
I'd smile a sky from East to West

Should I have wondered
Who would warm me
When winter comes and robins fly
How many winters would I wait
If there were even half a chance
That April find you in my arms
I'd smile a sky from East to West
I'd smile a sky from East to West

How many seas I'd set to rolling
If one might find you by my shore
To cool you with my weakest wave
If there were even half a chance
That you might find some comfort there
I'd smile a sky from East to West
I'd smile a sky from East to West

If running free were mine to give you
How many meadows would you run
How many treetops in the wind
Would rustle every leaf with hope
If I could hear you laughing there
I'd smile a sky from East to West
I'd smile a sky from East to West

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Set Me as a Seal on Your Heart

Here's truth
Your songs would make an angel choke
Here's justice
A robin eaten by a worm
Your very likeness lies in that rotten joke
And mercy is in the hiding of it

So set me as a seal on your heart
As a seal on your arm
For love is stronger than death
More jealous than the tomb
The embers of a fire, come from God
That all the water in the world could not consume

So set me as a seal on your heart
As a seal on your arm

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The Song of Self Acceptance

(for crack whores, sexual predators, crabby policemen, and the incontinent)

I'm not the only pisspot in the house
I'm not the only pisspot in the house
And though I know I sometimes piss a lot
And even sometimes miss the pot
I'm not the only pisspot in the house

I'm not the only crack whore in the den
I'm not the only crack whore in the den
And though I may not know who's humpin me
At least I've got some company
I'm not the only crack whore in the den

You're not the only bugger on the prowl
You're not the only bugger on the prowl
And though we know you've got a checkered past
You're not the only pederast
You're not the only bugger on the prowl

You're not the only faggot on the force
You're not the only faggot on the force
We know you're different. It's all right
You're not the only sodomite
You're not the only faggot on the force.

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