she is dried out like the desert
she is famished, all but vanished by design
and her hide out is her cactus heart
her own hand grenade, a barricade of spines
 
the sands of time repeating
she’s seen suffering before
her future takes a beating for
some man, some god, some war
 
she is minding her own business
steadfastly building castles of sand
when she is blinded by a raging son
who demolishes and calls it all his land
 
those poor holy rolling soldiers’ plights
they can’t live without their virgins and whores
to lift their strengths and spirits to fight for
some man, some god, some war
 
we are sucking out the venom
of poisonous scorpions and snakes
we are bucking this ecosystem
til our mother’s deserts are our daughter’s lakes
 
oh, wondrous, thunderous women
together too loud to ignore
no more curtsies at the mercy of
some man, some God, some war

right this way ma'am to the finish line
i was never in your lane, you were never in mine
do what you gotta do, girl go get that win
did you do it the right way?
honey let's not pretend
 
sometimes you must choose to lose with a shrug and a grin
 
come with me friend to the starting line
you know i got your back, i hope you still got mine
do what we gotta do to begin again
i won't fight for a prize but I'll fight for a friend 

you’re the sugar coat on a bitter pill
you’re the place i go in a earthquake drill
you will walk to the porch with a bat in your hand
so i don’t have to look at the boogeyman
you flash all of the light underneath my bed
and the monsters have not found me yet
 
but they found you, they surround you
look around you, yeah they found you
 
you’re the softest nest in the highest tree
you’re a needed kiss on a wounded knee
you crack open a cactus with your bare hands
so i don’t die of thirst in a desert land
you rip all of the targets right off my head
and the arrows have not got me yet
 
but they got you, yeah they shot you
an onslaught into you, yeah they got you
 
you’re a little bird with a lion’s mane
your dreams deferred in a weathervane
i will scour the depths and the breadth of the sea
and collect all the joy that you gave up for me
to the queen with her crown i will coronate
i will bow at the feet of my surrogate
 
i will praise you, cause you raised me
my grace traced to you, thank you haley 

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i've been down, i've been below
i've been taken by the power of the water and the undertow
now I know when there's nearly nothin' left
it's the perfect time for learning how to hold your own breath
cause I chose a life a little deeper down
it gets dark down here but I like the sound
of absolutely nothing when something hits it hard
it's like underground thundering
my divine, supreme, subliminal being
 
i've been stuck, i've been between
i've been worried about the woes of a woman wandering
now I know my paths are plenty
sometimes sitting on a fence is just as good a place as any
cause i chose a life without a map
i get lost a lot but i'm fine with that
cause i like the curious curve of a question mark
it is all encompassing
my divine, supreme, subliminal being
 
i've been up, i've been high
i've been launched like a rocket ship looking down at the sky
now i know flight don't like gravity
but there'll come a day when weight won't apply to me
cause i chose a life that stares death in the face
just a stop along the way before outer space
cause i like to think my soul's made out of stars
it is vaporizing
my divine, supreme, subliminal being

she ain't no ordinary mama,
she might like you a lot but not as much as drama
and you, you don't want no drama
she ain't no ordinary sister
she's going down and she wants to take you with her
and you, you're too smart to sink
 
you should stop giving swimming lessons,
that ain't your new profession
you don't owe her progression, that's what i think
 
she ain't no ordinary lover
she likes to be the victim; one day she will discover
you know love won't point the blame
she ain't no ordinary honey
erasing all her problems by spending daddy's money
and you know love don't cost a thing
 
i know you don't want to hear it
you're still not used to these words
until you're thinking clearly
let me tell you what i think you're worth
 
you ain't no ordinary lassie
you keep it kind, thoughtful and classy
and you have a heart that grows
 
you should start taking flying lessons
make that your new profession
you owe yourself progression, that's what i know

i used to cry, it's the way i would feel
my mom would smile and say it's just an earthquake drill
now there's nothing natural about it, the disaster is real
they're all shooting at nothing but they're shooting to kill
they're all shooting at nothing but they're shooting to kill

have a good day at school kid, good luck on your test
mama packed you a lunch and a bullet proof vest
now there's nothing natural about it, the disaster is real
they're all shooting at nothing but they're shooting to kill
they're all shooting at nothing but they're shooting to kill

if we put down our guns, step away from our screens
pick up our kids and teach 'em something
cause there's something natural about that
we're all someone's daughter or son
i'm not saying it's the answer, but it sure won't kill anyone
i'm not saying it's the answer, but it sure won't kill anyone

when i thought i had nothing left
when i thought i had died
you waited with bated breath
yeah you waiiiiiiited
 
sure is not a shrug
or an ambivalent guess
it's a capital underlined yes
 
in my mind's eye i see your smile
and your heart beats in the heart of my heart
your beauty is a beggar for description
no words could ever play that part
 
the course of true love
never did run smooth
but you brought your oars
to my waves and i'm sure of one thing
and that's you

snake skin is what i've been living in
no appendages or opposable thumbs
just a head and tale that won't stop spinning
snake skin is what i've been living in
just wide eyes and a poisonous tongue
and i don't even know where all this venom came from
 
and it's so damn sad
losing all you thought you had
and it makes me weep
cause i just wanted to keep my snake skin so bad
 
snake skin is what i've been living in
my muscles clench and i might bite
but it's my only protection
snake skin is what i've been living in
swallowing more than i can chew
just gotta learn to let it move through

*co-written with Veronica May

tiptoe up the stairs 
as if there's anyone up there, up there
silent night in bed 
storm clouds raging in my head
in my head

oh night, tell me a story
oh night, sing me a lullaby
sleep walk me into the morning
just let me close my eyes
don't want to watch the wheels fall off my life

watch the minutes pass
lonely little hourglass, hourglass
conscious steady stream runs
through an ocean of could have been dreams
could have been dreams

*co-written with Haley White

every thought was a play that you starred in
i can’t keep from clapping, i’m begging your pardon
but your radiating underneath that spotlight
this audience seat feels like a cage
it’s all i can do to keep from jumping onstage
because of the way that you look tonight
 
i’m yelling encore
i stand in ovation for you
wish i could do more
wish there was more i could do
 
give me your script, i will write myself in
you can be the new hero to my heroine
forget the dialogue, let’s get to the curtain call
we can hide in the wings where nobody’s watching
i know that your lips can do a lot more than talking
come on baby let’s break down the fourth wall
 
it’s intermission, i’m sitting here wishing
that they keep the lights on for the last scene
there’s not much time before your last bow
yet somehow i still keep hoping
that when you look out i’m the face in the crowd that you see
wish you could do more
wish you could give more to me