Act of contrition

The air was all dust, a night so untamed
The ground opened up and swallowed all of the rain
and it swallowed you too-- into distance unknown
As they sat down for dinner they waited for you to get home
yeah, they set a place for you.

So don't believe everything that you read, in that diary of yours.
And this nervousness, it isn't all your fault
it's just these shaking hands won't do what I want them to.
And I've tried to guess what it is you thought about
that act of contrition that rolled off our tongues as you wept,
what are you crying for?

Just dust my heart and you will find
there are no fingers printed there
just the untouched place that lies inside
of every lonely boy tonight.

And all this open air has caused me to choke
on your new-found hope for me.