Sadie

Sadie, white coat
You carry me home
And bury this bone
And take this pine-cone

Bury this bone to gnaw on it later;
Gnawing on the telephone
And 'till then, we pray and suspend
The notion that these lives do never end

And all day long we talk about mercy:
Lead me to water, Lord, I sure am thirsty
Down in the ditch where I nearly served you
Up in the clouds where he almost heard you

And all that we built
And all that we breathed
And all that we spilt, or pulled up like weeds
Is piled up in back
And it burns irrevocably
(And we spoke up in turns
'Till the silence crept over me)

And bless you
And I deeply do
No longer resolute oh
And I call to you

But the water
Got so cold
And you do lose
What you don't hold

This is an old song, these are old blues
And this is not my tune, but it's mine to use
And the seabirds where the fear once grew
Will flock with a fury
And they will bury what'd come for you

And down where I darn with the milk-eyed mender
You and I, and a love so tender
Stretched on a hoop where I stitch - this adage:
"Bless our house and its heart so savage"

And all that I want
And all that I need
And all that I've got is scattered like seed
And all that I knew is moving away from me
(And all that I know is blowing
Like tumbleweed)

And the mealy worms
In the brine will burn
In a salty pyre
Among the fauns and ferns

And the love we hold
And the love we spurn
Will never grow cold
Only taciturn

And I'll tell you tomorrow
Sadie, go on home now
And bless those who've sickened below
And bless us who've chosen so

And all that I've got
And all that I need
I tie in a knot and I lay at your feet
And I have not forgot, but a silence crept over me
(So dig up your bone
Exhume your pine-cone, my Sadie)