And the Wind (Verse 1) The bus is late on chipped asphalt A Tuesday, grey and almost-past The wind picks up a grocery bag And sets my pleated world a-sway A little dance, a whispered threat I press my textbooks to my chest And to my thighs, a silent prayer Don't look, don't see me standing there (Verse 2) A sudden gust, a colder bite The navy wool takes sudden flight My hands fly down, a frantic press A failed and flimsy kind of stress The memory of third-grade swings The boys who saw such simple things And laughed a laugh that left a stain I feel that ancient, sharp-edged shame (Chorus) And the wind, it won't relent It’s got a will, an argument My palms are slick, my face is stone I am completely and utterly alone In a fight I cannot win This public, private, gusty sin A silk beige flag with ducks in flight Surrendered to the afternoon light (Verse 3) A final pull, a tensile groan The clasp gives way, I am dethroned A scrap of wool, a navy ghost Caught on a fence, the thing I miss the most And I am rooted to the ground In just my blouse, the silence is a sound A hundred eyes I swear I feel Staring right through what I reveal (Chorus) And the wind, it won't relent It’s got a will, an argument My palms are slick, my face is stone I am completely and utterly alone In a fight I cannot win This public, private, gusty sin A silk beige flag with ducks in flight Surrendered to the afternoon light (Bridge) A senior guy just coughs and turns His kindness is a thing that burns He snags my skirt from off the wire And walks it back through judgment’s fire He mumbles “here,” looks at my shoes I whisper “thanks,” and pay my dues In a currency of heated skin For the awkward spot he found me in (Verse 3) I smoothed it down, my trembling hand On woolly pleats, on shifting sand I rode the bus in quiet dread With phantom laughs inside my head But next week, when the wind blew hard I didn’t flinch out in the yard I just stood firm, and felt the sting Of being such a fragile thing That could fly off and still be me A little bruised, but mostly free. (Chorus) And the wind, it won't relent It’s got a will, an argument My palms are slick, my face is stone I am completely and utterly alone In a fight I cannot win This public, private, gusty sin A silk beige flag with ducks in flight Surrendered to the afternoon light
