God's Property Marker

[Verse 1]
The keys to the acequia gate are cold in my palm,
Left on the kitchen counter with a bookmarked psalm.
The Sandoval County assessor's map from eighty-three
Says this line in the dirt belongs to God and to me.

[Chorus]
They call it heritage, this bitter stone,
A foundation I will not call my own.
My hammer's gonna sing a different song,
Right here is where the anger all went wrong.

[Verse 2]
He built these rooms with juniper and pine,
Said, "Every single joist is a prayer of mine."
But the kitchen floor has got a two-degree slant
Towards the fenceline where the neighbors can't plant.

[Spoken Interlude]
(A neighbor's voice, raspy and thin, over a crackling phone line)
"Lord, child. That line in the dirt? Your grandpa would sooner move a mountain. Used to say, 'God drew that line, and the devil lives on the other side of it.' Kept his rifle oiled, just in case."

[Chorus]
They call it heritage, this bitter stone,
A foundation I will not call my own.
My hammer's gonna sing a different song,
Right here is where the anger all went wrong.

[Bridge]
These calloused hands know what it is to mend,
To find the place a promise has to end.
I'm letting go the wire, I'm dropping the claim,
This is the one forgiveness I can name.

[Chorus]
They call it heritage, this bitter stone,
A foundation I will not call my own!
My hammer's gonna sing a different song,
Right here is where the anger all went wrong!

[Outro]
Yeah, my hammer sings a brand new song.