Exiles Among You

Her body is a difficult sister and she loves her
And hides her somewhere in herself, safe from harm
She’s barely coasting into a paycheck, stuck on empty
Her blue eyes frozen green in the low-lit ATM
I need a way to measure the distance
I need a way to say why
Out of breath or out of key
Her voice resonated in me
Wish on everything
Pray that she remains
Proud and strange and so hopelessly hopeful
Her body is a difficult sister and she loves her
And hides her somewhere in herself, safe from harm
Her night shift is over, she’s writing you a postcard
To say that she’s okay and it’s raining there again
My fury’s rising faster than bus fares
Could someone clarify why
There’s no structured narrative?
No neat storyline to explain
Wish on everything
Pray that she remains
Proud and strange and so hopelessly hopefull
(Wishes and prayers are the way)
Wish on everything
(That we leave the lonely alone)
Pray that she remains
(And push the wounded away)
Proud and strange and so hopelessly hopeful
She shoplifts some Christmas gifts and a bracelet for herself
And considers phoning home, has some quarters in her hand
But she sits down on the sidewalk and bites her bottom lip
And spends the afternoon willing traffic lights to change