I’m Coming Home
By Kathleen Dunbar
Copyrighted by Kathleen Dunbar

verse
a lovelorn spoon
a shoe, a moon
a little scrap
of a sad sweet tune
some folks stay
some go away
what’s left of me is a ruin my love
all that’s left is a ruin

the dark angel swigged
from the bottle he poured
swore in a rage
at the image he bore
with his hands and a yell
pushed the hot gates of hell
we followed him through and we fell, we fell
god could not help us we fell

shells come in
with a blue engine moan
whining defining
all you have known
the ground measured again
in boots not in men
blood fills the holes that are blown
in the chalice cups of their bones

chorus
stay in the slow lane
in case you get stalled
the engine’s on fire
and the tires are all bald
you say baby I’m comin home
it might take a while
I’m comin home for your smile, my love
I’ve got to get back to your smile

verse
in a one-horse town
a mote in god’s eye
you ain’t on the lam, boy
but you are on the fly
you stand there and curse
and ask which is worse
to live with the ache or to die
sick unto death with the why

there is a boy
you know he’s your son
he has the same face
you had when you were when young
born into grace
all the while you laid waste
in a foreign place killed with your gun
in a war that could not be won

you cannot refuse
what you finally lose
love unaccepted
endured but unused
what she lays in your hand
slips away like the sand
the promised and pointless confused
in the sad blue despair of a bruise

chorus
stay in the slow lane
in case you get stalled
the engine’s on fire
and the tires are all bald
you say baby I’m comin home
it might take a while
I’m comin home for your smile, my love
I’ve got to get back to your smile

verse
it’s warm in the kitchen
what kitchens are for
you walk where you used to
along the boards of the floor
there’s love here and laughter
but caught in the after
you cannot go back to before
innocence yours nevermore

the singer has emptied
her heart to the crowd
what you have kept secret
it’s all said out loud
from an inner room lonely
what you have known only
your sacrifice you must avow
at this tragedy’s end take your bow

her dress was low cut
her hair was a mess
but this of her high holy gifts
was the best:
she longed to receive you
not once to deceive you
no need your sins to confess
just be held in her tenderness

chorus
stay in the slow lane
in case you get stalled
the engine’s on fire
and the tires are all bald
you say baby I’m comin home
it might take a while
I’m comin home for your smile, my love
I’ve got to get back to your smile
I’m comin home for your smile, my love
I’ve got to get back to your smile
mm mm mm mm mm mm mm
I fought through this hell for your smile
can you help me get back to your smile, my love
mm mm mm mm mm
mm mm mm mm mm mm mm
I want to get back to your smile