all you see

you take it in the gut
when he calls you a thief, a liar, & a slut
tears a hole in your shirt
& tells you to go change into a longer skirt

little girl
why don't you stay down
when he knocks you to the ground?
you just keep getting up
cuz all you see
is love

excuses wearing thin
bruises blossom beneath your skin
you said you fell again
split your lip, chipped a tooth, busted your chin

little girl
why don't you stay down
when he knocks you to the ground?
you just keep getting up
cuz all you see
is love

you tell me not to pry
you've got your reasons, i don't need to know why
but you're staying till the end
& if i question you i'm not really your friend

little girl
why don't you stay down
when he knocks you to the ground?
you just keep getting up
cuz all you see
is love

eggshell heart

i broke my eggshell heart against the lip of your cup
tried to hide how raw i felt inside but i wasn't firm enough
now the embryo of love is pooling on the table
i'm helpless, unable to stop its mad rush
i could quiver, i could blush
but i refuse to die twice

i've felt love in all its shades & degress
felt it hardening my resolve & weakening my knees
saw its open jaws & sent myself hurtling in
to fall down, humpty-dumpty & never get the lesson
i could whimper, i could cry
but i refuse to die twice

so i devour your hunger like a storybook
& look up in time to catch you in a lingering look
place my eggshell heart within your capable hands
you can take me or break me- i understand
won't be long before i'm gone
because i refuse to die twice

quiet from chaos

let's us go down to the lake
sit in the winter grass
no promises to make
the water's a looking glass

& in the mirror i see
sky spin out infinitely
sun's winter doubt wavering
clouds strung across a canopy
& hush until we can still chaos with
our quiet

i'll wrap one arm around my knees
while you skip stones
& pick at last year's leaves
& pretend not to feel alone

in the mirror i see
sky spin out infinitely
sun's winter doubt wavering
clouds strung across a canopy
& hush until we can still chaos with
our quiet

don't bend my ear to what i don't want to hear
& i swear i will do the same for you
hush until we can still chaos with
our quiet

Spine

i'll be fine.
i've got a spine made of iron, fortified with wine
i'll watch you from the corner of my eye
then i'll sigh,
then i'll leave without saying goodbye

i'll be fine.
toe the line, bite my lip, but won't give you a sign
i'll write songs to no one but they're all for you
it's what i do
tell the truth without telling the truth

if there's one thing you can take away with you
remember i'm foolishly stubborn & endlessly blue
but i'll be fine
cuz i'm always always always alright

i'll be fine.
i will sign what you desire on the bottom line
i'll tear my own heart in two before
you can do it
i don't want to go through it

i'll be fine.
i've got a spine made of iron, fortified with wine
i'll watch you from the corner of my eye
then i'll sigh,
then i'll leave without saying goodbye

if there's one thing you can take away with you
remember i'm foolishly stubborn & endlessly blue
but i'll be fine
cuz i'm always always always alright

i've always been a sucker for
anyone who would suck me in
& use me up & spit me out & do it all again
but i'll be fine
cuz i'm always always always
alright

breaking or broken

night unfolds, rose petals
& i'm holding a vigil again
candle light, another night
heartbreaking or heartbroken

waltz alone in the streetlight glow
glistening in the rain

& everything seems more beautiful
when i'm wishing wishing wishing
for someone to share it with

watch the clock, never stops
edging toward blooming sun
toss & turn, flame still burns
heartbreaking or heartbroken

naked trees laugh at the breeze
buffeting their skin

& everything seems more beautiful
when i'm wishing wishing wishing
for someone to share it with

sometimes i feel like i don't exist
or maybe i'm the only one left alive

natural selection

it's a jungle
it's a jungle in the city
wanna beat me?
wanna eat me?
it's natural selection

but i won't fight you for it
so step back
i won't fight you

it's survival
it's survival of the fittest
wanna fight me?
wanna bite me?
it's natural selection

but i won't fight you for it
so step back
i won't fight you

cuz i don't need anyone
i won't fight you

Home, Finally

my life's strange & unpredictable
reads like a novel, like a screenplay
a puzzle with a million jagged pieces
fragments that just fall into place
with no mistakes to erase

if life gets any more beautiful my heart might break
at the unlooked for happiness trailing in its wake
my heart might break

watch night form solidly
floor of cloud beneath a plane wing
stars transmit secret meaning
while the engine throbs & sings me
home, finally

if life gets any more beautiful my heart might break
at the unlooked for happiness trailing in its wake
my heart might break

losing someone

five o' clock, i am locked in a train
tempted to pull the emergency break
to stop myself from rolling out of control
off the tracks, a runaway
but my wicked smile says i don't mind, it's ok

i dream when i am wide awake
craving for the taste of
another heartbreak on my tongue
cuz nothing is as sweet as losing someone
losing someone

same thoughts hide behind each face
no differences beneath flannel or lace
i'll take you all on the ride of your lives
just give me your hands & close your eyes
my weary smile says never mind, it's alright

i dream when i am wide awake
craving for the taste of
another heartbreak on my tongue
cuz nothing is as sweet as losing someone
losing someone

happiness hurts

i don't want anything to change
hang the year in a picture frame
scratch my name on the window pane
to say i was here

wandering room after room
shadows of unknown disasters loom
soon i'll be singing a broken tune
to ward off fear

happiness hurts
cuz i can't make it last
it's moving too fast, another year past
happiness hurts cuz i can't make it last

flecks of dust floating in gold
i stop to watch the dance unfold
some of us young are untellably old
we can't forget

how many loves did i lose?
offered up as a gift to my muse
she's always hungry and i can't refuse
but no regret

happiness hurts
cuz i can't make it last
it's moving too fast, another year past
happiness hurts cuz i can't make it last

rebirth

when you were young
you had to run & run & run
& outrun the pain
of your need, of your desire
you had to bleed & bleed
& burn in the fire

cuz it's urgent, it's urgent, it's urgent
tomorrow you won't know why
& the pain burrows down so deep
you think you're going to die

till you fall exhausted to the ground
with the weight of your life pressing you down
till slow, slow, slow
you feel the earth revolve beneath you
you feel the rain fall absolve you

love is a seed, plant it deep
it grows, grows out of control
love is a flame, it defeats the ice
& laughs & laughs & kisses the snow

till you reach toward the sky
push through the soil
& strain, strain, strain through the earth
break the surface, break the curses
& glow, glow, glow
in the light of rebirth

just don't give up hope
everything resolves itself in time
& love will not be denied