Small Red Boy

[Verse 1] I found a small red boy inside my tummy With three dollars in change and a Milky Way Lite In my occasional pursuit to find something more meaningful Than yet another word that rhymes with "die" I cut him out and put him on my table His shallow-breathing chest would fall and rise His South of Heaven shirt was way too big for him His horns were long and sharp And then, he opened up those eyes that said: [Chorus 1] "I am, I am, I am, I am the truth" [Verse 2] I showered him with love and adulation One day, he was just as tall as me I showed him all the books that I was raised on Your Madeleine L'Engles and D'Aulaires Mythology And in a montage that could warm the heart of Hitler I raised him up, so proud and motherly I swore that I was glancing in a mirror When in the language that I taught him Oh God, he began to speak—he said: [Chorus 2] "I am, I am, I am, I am the truth I am, I am, I am, I am the truth" [Verse 3] And his eyes became a beacon, an LCD projector Broadcasting all my memories in a clear and vivid picture His tongue became a staircase, his uvula the knocker Of an ornate wooden door that led me straight into my future His throat became a hallway with a thousand baby pictures And I became forgiveness; I transformed into the closure that I lost When I learned about the tragedy of all of us I lost it when I learned about the tragedy of all of us Incorrigible illness in the loved ones in and out of us I lost it when I learned about the tragedy of all of us I walked through the hallway to a room of only mirrors Reflecting me in bondage, so I watched myself get freer I let my horns grow longer; I observed my skin get redder My soul became a hammer; I started to feel better My hatred turned to pity; my resentment blossomed flowers My bitter tasted candy; my misery was power The truth in me grew brighter—my nature and my nurture [Chorus 3] No more shame, no more fear, no more dread! I am, I am, I am, I am the truth