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?