Fire Song

When I was a little girl
My father had asked me not to play with fire--
So I didn't (at least, not to his knowledge)
But I would dream, and in my dreams,
There were horses in the woods
You and I were bareback and restless--
We would ride through the woods
And the woods were on fire
And our hearts were on fire
(and I was playing with fire)

The pounding of hooves
The sharp smell of smoke

And then I would wake from my dream
And my mother would ask me if I had played with fire--
But I hadn't (at least, not to her knowledge)
'Though I'd return to that dream
When no one was watching
To the danger, the fire, the desire
And I remember how the woods were on fire
And our hearts were on fire
(and I was playing with fire)

The sharp smell of smoke
The sweet sweat of youth

And then one day, I decided to awaken from that dream
To return home where my mother and father
had waited patiently,
But I couldn't believe what I had found--
That their house had caught on fire