The Long Way

Lyrics

Your grandfather was a murderer. I'm glad he's dead. He invented the toothbrush, But I don't care to read his name On the building I walk through To avoid the rain. He raped women Who weren't yet women. I imagine the wealth he left When you turn red. I imagine you as a baby Bouncing on a rapist's knee. I like my teeth Clean. I like to stay warm And healthy. I get it. Then I get it Again: my oral hygiene and your memory Avoiding one another Like a girl who walks the long way To miss the neighborhood bully Who'd really rather just beat up on somebody New. I can't help you. I can't hug you. I can't grip your right hand, though It never held a gun, though it never Covered a lovely mouth, and you can't pay me To cross the ground floor without wishing I could spit or mar some slick surface And not think of who will have to do the cleaning. We'd all still be poor. I'd end up drenched Going around. You'd end remembering What won't lead to a smile that gleams In dark places.