Archway

Stand there in the archway
Of a garden with no name
Dry leaves crumbling in your hand
Rains that never came
At night you see the lanterns glow
Inside the pickers´ tents
Counting up the coins inside
The pockets of their pants
A prayer is said in every bed
As broken fingers close
So many people on their knees
Too few on their toes

The sun enters the suffering
A balm that bring relief
The old ones know that kindness is
More crucial than belief
The song inside their young ones
Is bitter to the tongue
A song they know will hurt them so
If ever it is sung
Long blue sky of August
A wind that never blows
So many people on their knees
Too few on their toes

Llisten to the radio
The late-night border songs
People may forget their rights
They don´t forget the wrongs
A song about a funeral
A girl in Spanish sings
You can hear the change in breathing
That her ballad brings
The dream that is not dreaming
The late-night border shows
On your knees imagining
You´re dancing on your toes

Stand there in the archway
Of a garden with no name
The earth too hot to walk upon
The rains that never came
At night you see the lanterns glow
Inside the workers´ tents
The rifle and the rosary
The electrical fence
The wine is not for drinking
The bread is for the crows
So many folks are on their knees
Too few are on their toes

DL