It Was Love That Let You Wither

To have them know that even
When it pours down rain there’s
Still dry patches down beneath
The cloth and skin and bone

And you can tell them, where
Or when they ask why all
The world’s soaked heavy through
And they are dry as desert lonliness

You can tell them young ones it’s not
That I didn’t want you to grow tall be-
Come some green eyed beauty with a
Way about her, a him or I, it was

The fear of too much rain, the drown-
Ing of a soul at sea, the misery of
Watching a smile sink beneath the
Waves is why I held the tide at bay.

To have them know that even
Though a body floats it’s only after
The life’s gone and the heart is
At the bottom of the sea.