The room was dark and painted red We all drew straws for our uncertain deaths A candle flickered across the floor Throwing shadows against the trembling walls We’d hoped would hold our bodies in close How wrong we were We were quite wrong Through the air came wasps and bears Ants and antelopes and all you’ve ever seen In flight we fought We thought it was right How wrong we were Now my steps shiver Into the ether Into the air With five fine fingers and eyes all manic A mumbled panic into the silence We’d fled so faithful and swallowed scaredness We’d hide and hibernate As oh the oleander grows like swollen pockets of stones Around the bones of our old homes We await the bees and their knives She’s here Now my words carry across the valley we used to share Now my cries stretch on into the birdsong into the air Wake me up when it’s over let’s get out of here We’ll make homes in the canyons Let’s get out of here Wake me up and it’s a brilliant new day In the sun the winding streets sink under the grass