August Memories, Broken Glass

Back in ′88, that's the last time it flashed so clear;

It's birthday candles burning while the family tension grew;

Me and me and my little brother on the middle step tryna pee;

Two nosey for how

I'm good, listening to the truth in the heat;

Mama and daddy upstairs, words flying through the walls;

Two kids downstairs praying, watching shadows crawl;

And daddy came down, celestial rabbits from the storm;

Picked us up in that truck, tried to keep our hearts warm;

We circle 33rd and

Oxford, headlights cutting through the night;

But you don't know the way to love, just know it's what feels right;

I kept looking back at that house, at the smoke and the pain;

Never knew that broken windows could look like falling rain;

And I still remember that night like a scar on my soul;

But they toy mixed with heartbreak, that's a heavy load;

I wanted my mama back, one old and two;

But alcohol had her mind and it tore right through;

Now the years keep moving, kids grow, life goes on;

But I still hear that little boy crying in a forgotten song;

It's my daughter's birthday coming,

August 14 and a half;

And I wish your grandma would show up like she still cares;

When we came back, that window was busted;

Glass everywhere, daddy stood silent;

Like he already knew who was there;

My mother did it, that's the story that got left;

A house full of anger can steal the peace from a child's mind;

I used to dream she'd come back sober, be the mother

I miss;

These my kids, what

I never got, seal the wounds with a kiss;

But I don't always hear what the tears have sung;

Some folks stay strange as even when the blood has grown;

I've been carrying that old house in the back of my chest;

Every argument, every prayer, every sleepless mess;

I want a family picture, not a frame full of cracks;

Where some love walks out and never comes back;

And I still remember that night like it's thought

I saw;

But the joy mixed with heartbreak, that's a heavy load;

I wanted my armor back, man, and

I still do;

But I go hard down my limit, you're right through;

Now the years keep movin', kids grow, life goes on;

But I still hear that little boy cryin' in a foreign land;

It's my daughter's birthday coming,

August 14 in the air;

And I wish her grandma would show up like she still cares;

I'm not acting for perfect, just somebody to talk to;

I tried to look my daughter in the eyes, and

I let love pass by;

I forgave a lot of silence, forgave the years of pain;

But being present means more than saying your name;

So if you hear me tonight, know the door ain't sealed;

There's still time to make amends;

Make it right to help old wounds heal;

And I still remember that night like a star in my soul;

Like your image was heartbreak, that's a heavy load;

I wanted my love back, wanted to hold it true;

But alcohol had a mind and it closed my tooth;

How the years keep moving, kids grow, life goes on;

For life, they'll hear that little boy finally the forgotten song;

It's my daughter's birthday coming,

August 14 in the end;

And I wish her grandma would show up like, please, still care;

1988 still lives in me, in the broken glass;

Send the rain;

A child grew up with questions;

Trying to make sense of the pain;

For my daughter I pray;

Love shows up before the candle burns away;