Myrrhine

We were crawling through the underbrush
Out in South Dakota in the snow
We were searching for a place to hide
When you found a dying bird

And we named him after Jesus Christ
And we told him all the tallest tales
And we fed him seeds and flower stems
And resolved to keep him warm

Then he flew away with no regrets
And we watched him as he disappeared
And we sat and tried to sprout some wings
And ended up falling asleep

So we set ourselves to work again
Built a kitchen table with our hands
And we filled it with the highest hopes
And the most unlikely plans

And we emptied out the dusty jars
And an aging pail of yellow paint
Turned the ashes of our loved ones
Into art before our eyes

And we carved their figures out of soap
Every detail was exactly right
And they were beautiful to me and you
But they couldn't speak a word

You were scared that we'd wasted all that love
But it was more than we could ever get rid of

We kept our word, never turned back to see the graves
It was better way, couldn't tell the difference
We drew a bird on the wall and named him after us
And he stayed by our side and never flew away