A Bitter Spring

[Verse 1]
May taps the lid of a Ball jar, listens for the seal.
The dog days of August make the air feel unreal.
She lines up the green beans, a long, patient row,
On a shelf Sam just finished, sturdy and slow.
The kitchen light hums a low, yellow tune,
Under a tired quarter moon.

[Chorus]
A kindness can be a sharp thing,
A silence can cut like a stone.
Some knowledge is a bitter spring,
Best left to bubble up alone.

[Verse 2]
Down at the Sinclair on Highway 62,
The smell of hot asphalt and something brand new.
Clay’s hand on the arm of a girl from West Fork,
His laugh like a splinter from a different board.
Her hair was the color of last season’s hay,
He bought her a Coke and they drove away.

[Chorus]
A kindness can be a sharp thing,
A silence can cut like a stone.
Some knowledge is a bitter spring,
Best left to bubble up alone.

[Bridge]
I saw the light on in her kitchen just now.
This truth is a root that would break the plow.
He saw me see him, just a flicker of dread,
"Just getting gas," is all that he said.

[Outro]
The thunder is gathering south of the holler.
The air is too thick for a breath or a swallow.