The Center of the World

Bright Eyes

At the center of the world
There is a statue of a girl
She is standing near a well
With a bucket bare and dry

I went and looked her in the eyes
And she turned me into sand
This clumsy form that I despise
Scattered easy in her hand

And it came to rest upon a beach
With a million others there
We sat and waited for the sea
To stretch out so that we could disappear

Into the endlessness of blue
Into the horror of the truth
We are far less than we knew
Yes, we are far less than we knew

But we knew what we could taste
Girls found honey to drench our hands
Men cut marble to mark our graves
Saying that we will need something to remind us

Of all the sweetness that has passed through us
(Fresh sangria and lemon tea)
The priests dressed children for a choir
(White-robed small voices praise Him)

But found no joy in what was sung
The funeral had begun in the middle of the day
When you drive home to your place
From that job that makes you sleep

Back to the thoughts that keep you awake
Long after night has come to claim
Any light that still remains in the corner of the frame
That you put around her face

Two pills just weren't enough
The alarm clock is going off but you are not waking up
This isn't happening
It is