Treasury of Prayers

That my enemies, that my fevers are weak That my lessons don't hurt, that my medicine is sweet That these days are not the pearls, and I am not the swine That faithful's not a word that I cannot define That I find my will to fight, that I lose my taste for drink And if that's too much to ask, that my hangovers are brief That while we're here on earth I can keep the difference hid Between what I should have done and what I really did That my children live out stories they can tell around a fire That they can recognize beauty, that they can recognize a liar That their innocence remains, that they never question my love That they work to build cathedrals they won't live to pray inside of That our better angels sing of peace instead of war That the pistol's close at hand when the wolf is at the door That the plot never thickens, the other shoe never drops That the age of grace begins, when the age of reason stops That it feels just like a memory when my father calls me home Like I'm racing under streetlights back to dinner on the stove That there's a candle in my window, that there's roses on my grave From those that I befriended, from those that I betrayed That the three men I admire the most Never caught that last train for the coast That the music never died, that the levy wasn't dry That we might be east of eden But we're heading west tonight Well, I heard the news this morning and my hope will never end That you found heaven quick from here in Baltimore, my friend