Altar in Your Box

Here along the roadside
I brought nails and wood and paint
I’ve had a little trouble
Deciding on a saint
A cross from Ensanada
In the dark it’s supposed to glow
Some beads I bought in Garberville
Another life ago
Out here on the highway, I build your altar in your box
Some shelter when its raining, some shade for when its not
It’s not
Though red would probably suit you
I think I’ll just paint it white
It’s the color of the virgin
She’s my beacon in the night
A statue of St. Francis
He holds a little lamb
And answers to a question so much bigger than I am
At your altar in your box, at your altar in your box
The women throw Hail Mary’s at
Your altar in your box
At last I will hang a rosary
That my father gave to me
From olive trees in Lebanon
Some personal history
And I won’t include your photograph
Or carve your name in stone
So the women who bring flowers
Can make your box their own
And I will light a candle
And say a prayer for you
So that I will not feel guilty
On the nights that I drive through
At your altar in your box
At your altar in your box
The big wheels keep on rolling by your altar in your box
The truckers all salute you in your altar in your box
You just might find me kneeling by your altar in your box
As I sit beside the water
And watch the men rake rocks
I trust that you’ll be happy
In your altar in your box