Platforms

life knocked me off my platforms
so i pulled out my first pair of boots
bought on the street at astor place
before new york was run by suits
and i suited up for the long walk
back to myself
closer to the ground now
with sorrow
and stealth

© 2004 ani difranco / righteous babe music

Lincoln

I found you
like a shiny penny
face-down on the pavement

you were not quite as lucky
like the ones face-up
but valuable, nonetheless

so I picked you up
put you in my pocket
saving you for a rainy day

I pull you out into the light
from time to time
run you between my fingers

and watch the sun
glisten off the shiny copper exterior
and bask in your beauty for a while

then tuck you away
saving you up
letting your value grow

feeling you against my thigh
waiting for your purpose
wanting to be spent

but i don't want to spend you
I'll hold on for a while
keeping you in my palm

looking at your face
reading your date
decoding your secrets

until it is time
to make a wish
and spend you on my dreams

No Limit

where did that spotlight come from
that you shined on me
where it doesn't belong

calling my cards
like a bad hand of poker

I'm not apologizing for myself
anymore

fuck that

there is no hiding
from that kind of light
no matter how I've tried
to remove that part of me

it's staying

and you can deal with it
or don't

I have a full house
and a lot of money on the table
play if you want
or fold

either way
there are no secrets
in the end
try shining that light again

you like what you see
you want what you found

I'll check you all the way
until the last card is dealt

and all the lights are on