I Was Afraid of Death

from A Bird's Heart by Joni Davis

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lyrics

When I was a kid I was afraid of death
What would happen to us when we left the flesh
To fall down to hell or rise up to heaven
What made us so sure the good lord would let us in
I'd think about my body the vessel for my soul
And the great gaping gash in the ground that’d swallow it up whole
I’d think about my shoes with no feet
And my cold dead heart with no blood to beat
And my momma would tell me baby don’t you cry
Don’t cry little girl because everybody dies

I wondered from heaven what we must look like
All small units tiny and bristle like
A writhing moving breathing mass of existence
Synchronized by syncopated in passing breezes
With no known purpose except but for moving and living and breathing and dying
I wondered what we looked like from down in hell
To see us from the underneath to see us that well
Probably not too pretty or becoming of us all
To see us from the underneath before we fall
While we’re buying and selling and trading
While living and breathing and dying
A dark and strangled kingdom
More fuel for the fire
And onward and onward and onward we fall

When I was a kid I was afraid of death

credits

from A Bird's Heart, released January 1, 2008

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about

Joni Davis California

Joni Davis is a Northern California based musician, cook, baker and teacher. She has self-released two albums , written music for two independent films , and has played her music around the west coast of the United States, England and the Netherlands. Joni's music is inspired by being uncomfortably human on this magnificent planet. ... more

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