Marrow

"The answer came like a shot in the back
While you were running from your lesson
Which might explain why years later all you could remember
Was the terror of the question
Plus, you weren't listening
You were stockpilling canned goods
Making a bomb shelter of our basement
And I can't believe you let the moral go by
While you were soaking in the product placement

Where was your conscience?
Where was your consciousness?
And where did you put all those letters
That you wrote to yourself but could not address?

I'm a good kisser and you're a fast learner
And that kinda thing could float us for a pretty long time
Then one day you'd realize you've memorized my phone number
And you'll call it and find it's a disconnected line
'Cause I got tossed out the window of love's El Camino
And I shattered into a shower of sparks on the curb
You were smoking me weren't you? Between your yellow fingers
You just inhaled and exhaled without saying a word

Where was your conscience?
Where was your consciousness?
And where did you put all those letters
That you wrote to yourself but could not address?

There's a smorgasbord of unspoken poisons
A whole childhood of potions that are bottled up
And so one by one I am dusting off labels
i am uncorking bottles and filling up cups
So go ahead and have a taste of your own medicine
And I'll have a taste of mine
But first let's toast to the lists that we hold in our fists
Of the things that we promise to do differently next time

'Cause the answer came like a shot in the back
While you were running from your lesson
Which might explain why years later all you could remember
Was the terror of the question
Plus, I'm not listening to you anymore
My head is too sore and my heart's perforated
And I'm mired in the marrow of my (well ain't that) funny bone
Learning how to be alone and devastated

Where was my conscience?
Where was my consciousness?
And what do I do with all these letters
that I wrote to myself but cannot address?"


Ani Difranco