Karen Dalton

The names of the living have been changed,
every face obscured––
but no secret whispered low
will ever go unheard.
The radio coughs and turns to grain
as we slip the reach
of those singing out aloud,
we’ve so long lived beneath
So, catch me if I go astray
or if I run aground,
but leave me if I’m falling free
––either up or down
We talk of love like we speak of god,
willing each to be
a savage creature in our hearts,
turning us like a key.
Like a voice thrown across the room,
I say more than I know––
like some hand on my back,
I’m led to where I go
So, catch me if I go astray
or if I run aground,
but leave me if I’m falling free
––either up or down
Oh raise a glass, a flag, some cane
like children of your own––
I’ve knit your brow to be
the map that we follow home.
Moving through fallen trees and dark,
where promise sleeps––
I gamble my soul for change
but play it all for keeps
So, catch me if I go astray
or if I run aground,
but leave me if I’m falling free
––either up or down