I Used To Live Right There

If tears could stop the flames,
hell would have vanished days ago

Ashes of memories
debris of dreams

So long to gain,
so quick to lose
hold tightly to nothing

Fire leaps and laughs
but it's not funny
Fire dances
while I stand anchored in ashes

My neighbor is my neighbor no more
My neighbor is me
We merge into madness

I wish I had the courage of that man
who waves a garden hose at
the monster

Life can be serene
Life can be savage
This is savage

Thirty years to scrimp and save and sacrifice
thirty minutes
thirty minutes
and it all turns to embers in the wind
my life twinkles in the sky

Last night I slept in the warmth
of my bed in the embrace of peace
tonight on the hard floor of a warehouse
next to a man who weeps
in the darkness

Uncontrollable flame
devouring flame
evil flame
makes a mockery of fairness

I thought I knew what courage was
until I watched him, helmet and
boots and heavy coat, walk
into the heat of hell and
spit in the monster's
face
until
I saw her pulling
a heavy hose across the 
threshold of a once-house and sobbing all the way

I used to live right there
now?  I'm not sure
I think it's everywhere