know love

my sister
she was raped by a black man
i didn't think it mattered, the color of his skin
but some people thought that it should
she said "father, forgive them, they know not what they do..."

and i knew then that she knew love better than they could
i knew then that she just knew love better than they could

i saw a boy about 6, quiet, serene
playing jacks in the park
some kids came down from up the hill
started fucking with him because he was dark
i broke it all up before it could start
i looked into his eyes and i could see his broken heart
i took his hand in mine
asked "what can i do?"
he said "paint me up white so i can be like them and you."

what else could i say?
i said "you don't want that"

there was a man down my street
he had funny ideas
and he talked to himself. a lot.
one night around ten he was sitting on a bench doing nothing
and he found himself shot
his eyes stayed wise but he never walked again
he said, "they took nice cents... it was all that i had"
and when i asked him how he really felt about that
he said "they must have needed it bad"

and i knew then that he knew love better than i could
i knew then that he just knew love better than i could