Chapter VI : Take Me Back to the Family Tree

I parked two fields over from my daddy’s fence line Engine ticking cool in the dark grass I can see the kitchen window glowing through the pines Mama’s shadow moving past the sink Daddy sitting on the back steps with his boots off Everything looks the same as it did before the fire Except there’s no place set for me at the table anymore Take me back to the family tree Before the roots rotted out under my feet Before my uncle made a ghost out of my name I just want to go home, I just want to sit on the porch But there’s a wall between us thicker than the dirt And I can’t ever go back inside They don't talk about what happened to his house on Highway 11 They don't talk about why I don't call on Sunday afternoon They just tell the neighbors I moved up north for work Told them I got distant, told them I turned strange I watch my brother come out to throw the trash in the bin I want to yell his name through the windshield I want to run across the pasture like when we were kids But I’m a stranger to my own blood now Take me back to the family tree Before the roots rotted out under my feet Before my uncle made a ghost out of my name I just want to go home, I just want to sit on the porch But there’s a wall between us thicker than the dirt And I can’t ever go back inside Take me back Just take me back I’m standing right outside the fence And nobody’s coming to open the gate