if children were wishes

if children were wishes

my mother spent hers on impossible things

my brother was money

my sister was love

and i was world peace

my brother

he spent it

my sister got pregnant

and all that i'm worth

will only come true

when there are no more of us left on this earth

if hearts were machines that kept

running forever automatically

then you wouldn't be in that

hospital bed

on that saline i.v. and if it's your diet

you stubbornly swear

that it wasn't your fault

you rather be dead in that hospital bed

than cut back on sugar and salt

oh

aren't you afraid of

living in a major american city

so marry a stupid

unreachable girl who's impossibly pretty

and i've seen you drive everyday of your life

and it's always a rush

and i have to wonder

how i ever let you do something so dangerous

and so i suppose this is

just how it goes no matter how i try

i just have to watch you get

weaker and weaker till you finally die

but i have to remember

the wish of my mother and all that i'm worth

which will only come true

when there are no more of us left on this earth