ballad of the china cup

i wrote this one a while ago. i might bring it back out for a drive.

ballad of the china cup

sweet girl who is lovely and so quick to smile
freshly fifteen and learning to drive
with hair just as deep and as dark as your eyes
amazed and awake with your eyes open wide
i won't tell you confusion is coming
your china tea cup has no cracks in its side

young boy in the clinic who is learning to wait
for his girlfriend upstairs who is bleeding and dazed
and the protesters hurling protests through the gate
and you know that you love her, but your love is too late
do you hear the sound of a crashing?
your china cup is beginning to break

woman of y ears who married too soon
your children are gone and your husband's left too
you are weeping and sleeping each day until noon
and you're covered in rain from a sky that is blue
don't look up to the sky for a reason
it's your china cup darling -- it's leaking on you

dear father who is watching his son waste away
your heart's made of stone and your feet made of clay
your rulebook for living is missing a page
the chapter on kindness has nothing to say
but the class is always in session
your china cup's crumbling in front of your face

old men in the subways who ride just to sleep
and the ladies in rest homes who live for t.v.
and mother and father and you and me
and the millions in graveyards laid out 'neath the trees
we're all trading our youth for some wisdom
and our china cup's crushing to dust at our feet
our china cup's crushing to dust at our feet