Child Then

I could run before I learned to walk,
tore the tongues out of my shoes
so they wouldn’t talk.
I was a child then.
Seven years at a private school
Only taught me how to play the fool.
I was a child then,
but I would do the same again.
My counsel is my own to keep
and yes my conscience lets me sleep.
My sisters would behave like trees,
whispering of mysteries
that were beyond my ken.
Midnight out by Crater Lake
wondering which pill to take.
I was a child then,
but I would do the same again.
Take another backward leap
and yes my conscience lets me sleep.
If I’d known then what I know now
I’d have done it anyhow.
I never thought at forty-five
I’d still be alive, be alive.
Sold my soul for the highest bid.
Feel no remorse for what I did.
I was a child then,
but I would do the same again.
My counsel is my own to keep
and yes my conscience lets me sleep.