ghost story

the cold, hard facts are twisted like taffy
open wide for sugared strands of corruption
pulsing cavities hint at self-destruction
in the afterimage of chemical brightened smiles

let me take this out of context with canvas and oil
will you stay the course, seeing what you want to see?
while i paint the landscape in distorted hues
pulled from the palette of our modern prophets

fabricated threats and dire warnings
are monsters under the bed, eating up our hopes
once upon a time there was nothing to fear
but now the closet rattles with mushroom clouds

i choose not to eat the witch's poisoned apple
to sleep while toyed with by puppetmasters
or wait for a hero's strength to rescue me
from a death i welcomed into my own sacred body

let me take this out of context with paper and pen
will you stay the course, hearing what you want to hear?
while i walk you through this disturbing landscape
of past truths erased by ever-present lies

red riding hood

i try to figure out what's wrong with all of us
and why we try to solve our problems with some bullets and a gun
why would you want to hurt someone
even if you've been hurt in the past?
what makes someone hurt someone?
i'm half-afraid to ask

in a world full of wolves maybe i'm just a little girl
instead of the sharp teeth and set jaw, i see a smile curl
why would someone want to hurt me?
i've been through enough in this life
we're all left nursing our own pain
whether it comes from a word or a hand or a knife

we pivot around the sound of those who scream loudest
and i feel my whisper's lost, another useless protest
but i was born a stubborn fool
i'm at the mercy of my heart
and it tells me to struggle and hope and love
even when this life rips me apart

maybe i'm just a little girl and you laugh at me under your hand
i will bring you the flowers i picked in the shadow of the mountain
and if you want you can trample them
but it's all i have to give
i'm going to struggle and hope and love
as long as this world lets me live

i'm going to struggle and hope and love
as long as this world lets me live