My Sister's Tiny Hands

We came in this world together
Legs wrapped around each other
My cheek against my sister's
We were born like tangled vinesAnd we lived along the river
Where the black clouds never linger
And the sunlight spread like honey
Through my sister's tiny handsBut while picking sour apples
In the wild waving grasses
Sister stumbled in the brier
And was bitten by a snakeEvery creature casts a shadow
Under the sun's golden fingers
And as the sun sinks past the waving grass
Some shadows are dragged alongSo alone I took to drinking
Bottles of cheap whiskey
And I staggered through the backwoods
Killing snakes with a sharpened stickOh but still I heard her laughing
In the wild waving grasses
Still her tiny hands went splashing
At the river's sparkling shoreSo I took my rusty gas can
And an old iron shovel
And I set the woods to blaze
And choked the river up with stonesEvery creature casts a shadow
Under the sun's golden fingers
And as the sun sinks past the waving grass
Some shadows are dragged along