IT'S TORN

I see you in windows
That open so wide
There's nothing beyond them
And no one inside

You kick off your sandals
And shake out your hair
The salt on your shoulders
Like sparks in the air

There's silt on your ankles
And sand on your feet
The river too shallow
The ocean too deep

You smile at your suffering
The sweetest reprieve
Why did you leave us?
Why did you leave?

You kick off your sandals
And shake out your hair
It's torn where you're dancing
It's torn everywhere

It's torn on the right
And it's torn on the left
It's torn in the center
Which few can accept

It's torn where there's beauty
It's torn where there's death
It's torn where there's mercy
But torn somewhat less

It's torn in the highest
From kingdom to crown
The messages fly
But the network is down

Bruised at the shoulder
And cut at the wrist
The sea rushes home
To its thimble of mist

The opposites falter
The spirals reverse
And Eve must re-enter
The sleep of her birth

And up through the system
The worlds are withdrawn
From every dominion
The mind stood upon

And now that you told her
And now that it's done
The name has no number
Not even the one

Come gather the pieces
All scattered in loss
The lie in what's holy
The light in what's not

The story's been written
The letter's been sealed
You gave me a lily
But now it's a field

You kick off your sandals
And shake out your hair
It's torn where you're dancing
It's torn everywhere.