1992

Maybe you were one or two floors down
Or maybe you were one or two floors up
But on my floor, quiet glee
And whispers about naming me
With bright balloons and flowers in a paper cup

Maybe you had kind and loving care
Or maybe they gave judging sighs and stares
While safe below – or safe above
A newborn child was wrapped in love
A happy family, joyful, unaware

While your body ached for loving touch
It ached on every level, in your bones and in each breath
Abandoned by your country, by your god, and by your blood
While my mother held me tight against her breast
She daydreamed of my future, while you never could admit your days were few
Were the heavens mocking both of us when they traded me for you?
Cause I didn’t die in 1992

They brought me home to gawking crowds of friends
With countless gifts and blessings, thankful prayers
You cried in anger, tossed and turned
A soul like mine, forsaken, spurned
Worried at the end no one would care

They buried you surrounded by your friends
Each one marked in marble, bleak and cheap
The raindrops fell down on your stone
While happy tears fell in my home
And your surviving chosen family softly weeps

Will you forever ache for loving touch?
Conditioned to the pain deep in your bones and in each breath
Abandoned by your country, by your god, and by your blood
While my father held me tight against his breast
He daydreamed of my future, while your kin forgot that they forsook you, too
Were the heavens mocking both of us when they traded me for you?
Cause I didn’t die in 1992

We took my life for granted, while you never could admit your days were few
Were the heavens mocking both of us when they traded me for you?
Cause I didn’t die in 1992
I didn’t die in 1992
That was you