Perry Street

Got those urges again

My skin is crawling

Better go out walking

Before I try to make it end

Can't sit still

Can't calm down

Heart beating fast

Sliding off the tracks

Don't want that needle

Don't need that bottle

Keep that pipe away

Drop to my knees and pray

Curled up in a corner on the dirty floor

Staring at the posters on the wall

Someone says they have the answer

If I can just hear the call

They file in and they file out

every hour or so

And I stay on this floor

Because I need more

More hope

More desperation

More shame

More redemption

More pain

More love

More hate

More noise

Someone screams from the third row

And someone in the fifth row says shut the fuck up

The inmates have taken over the asylum 

And no one wants to go

The girl talks about selling herself for her next hit

The cop on the take to feed his habit

The teacher who shot up between classes

And the woman who left her kid in the car

While she turned tricks outside the bar

They all tell their stories

And in between grab smokes in the rain

At 2 a.m. the doors will close

And they'll go home knowing

They got through another night with their pain

Those quiet streets carry those lost souls

As they make their way home

Knowing the beast has been held in check

And the city is closed.