The Sun's Mercy

[Verse 1]
I lean my back against the brick.
The wall is fat with the day’s heat.
I am a cold-blooded thing, usually.
But the sun has been generous today.
I find a coin in the gutter.
I thank the pavement for the gift.
The world is a hard mother.
But she feeds the birds and the drunks.

[Verse 2]
The air smells of wet wool and salt.
I walk toward the pier with heavy boots.
My lungs are full of the swamp’s breath.
It is a thick, holy soup we breathe.
Look at the weeds cracking the cement.
They have no respect for the law.
They just want the light on their faces.
I can understand that kind of hunger.

[Chorus]
Oh, the dirt is a warm bed.
(The heat is a heavy coat)
The sun is a yellow eye watching.
I am grateful for the gravity.
It keeps me from floating away.

[Verse 3]
I pour a little water on the roots.
A small ritual for the thirsty soil.
The worms are working in the dark.
They turn the rot into something sweet.
My hands are stained with the city.
But the rain will wash the sin off.
Eventually, everything goes back to the mud.
That is the only promise I trust.

[Verse 4]
There is a fly on my knee.
He is my brother in this heat.
We both want the sugar.
We both want the mercy of the shade.
I don't need a cathedral.
I have this patch of scorched grass.
And the rhythmic pull of the tide.

[Chorus]
Oh, the dirt is a warm bed.
(The heat is a heavy coat)
The sun is a yellow eye watching.
I am grateful for the gravity.
It keeps me from floating away.

[Outro]
The light is leaving the rooftops.
The shadows are long and ragged.
I am still standing.
Bless the bone.
Bless the heat.
(Bless the heat)
(Bless the mud)
I am still here.