I watched from a distance As you lit up the room Surely I am not The only one who sees The light that comes from you And although you lost Your voice out there You found it in the gravel By the road of dirt That I have often traveled Oh, you wretched, vivid thing Please stay off my mind Don't you know how cruel it is To be so kind? All the jewel and fennel, coriander You gathered where The brook meandered Past the fire hydrants, road signs And the phone lines Past the broken spigots Broken bricks On broken brick roads we won't fix Past schools and cemeteries Public libraries Well you shook and took Forsook me like A storm that knew my name A wind that grew until it blew The storm clouds all away Oh, you wretched, vivid thing Please stay off my mind Don't you know How cruel it is To be so kind?