Modern Day Shunning
After decades of writing and publishing poetry, I began working as a lyricist just before the pandemic. Working with musicians while staying isolated definitely kept me sane! All of our work was done remotely, although unfortunately the process of recording in the studio was halted.
Anyway, I would classify this song as folk. My poetry/lyrics are often within the storytelling genre. This one definitely fits that bill. There is music, but I don’t know how to share that.
Modern Day Shunning
Daisy skipped barefooted up to the church steps
Every Sunday
Nothing ‘tween her and hell but a silver toe ring
Daisy bowed down to pick some flowers
Her namesake
And when the choir sang hymns, she would always sing
When the service let out, Daisy’d reach into her basket
Of daisies
The townspeople kept on walking lest they turn to stone
And with their pious eyes uplifted
toward Heaven
They walked right by the purest thing they’d ever known
That’s the way they deal now with all the sinners
That’s a modern day shunning in the name of God
Put her picture on the internet so she remembers
Exactly why she turned her back on this fraud
When Daisy walked by, her feet looked light as air
Like she was floating
She always treated every person as the same
She fed the hungry and housed the homeless
And down-trodden
But Daisy’s sin was never knowing her daddy’s name
So they marched up to her cottage armed with leaflets
And pamphlets
They’d decided that Daisy needed to be saved
But while they’d been busy judging, she’d been watching
And waiting
She knew how, behind closed doors, each one behaved
That’s the way they deal now with all the sinners
That’s a modern day shunning in the name of God
Put her picture on the internet so she remembers
Exactly why she turned her back on this fraud.
Then one Sunday Daisy didn’t show up
At church time
Her basket empty right beside the red brick walk
Nobody could imagine how she’d left with no one seeing
In a small minded town all they do big is talk
Then the sunlight hit a glimmer of silver
In a clay brick
They couldn’t get it out no matter how they tried
And while nobody said it, you can bet that they all knew it
While busy pointing fingers
The rapture came and passed them by.
That’s the way they deal now with all the sinners
That’s a modern day shunning in the name of God
Put her picture on the internet so she remembers
Exactly why she turned her back on this fraud.
That’s the way they deal now with all the sinners
That’s a theme in the psalms they like to sing
But don’t be surprised when you bend down to claim it
To discover that the prize was never that silver ring.
Daisy’s silver ring.
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