Today I watched my cousin cry
A boy he knew today had died
Resting at the ocean floor
They found him there
Today I had a sudden thought
Life is short
And I had forgot
I hugged my friends
And I called my mother
And I pondered in the face of death
Would I stand and cry
Like a deer caught in the headlights
Would I stand there frozen
Afraid for those
He had not chosen
Today I caught up on the news
And saw just how this world concludes
It's not so violent as once might think
It's innocence that sends us off to sleep
Today my mind was overcome
With choices made
And lovers gone
And I had to think
What would I do
If I ever lost
Anyone of whom
I call my family
I'd be terrified of not saying goodbye
Before all of the endings
Had happened right there in my eyes
Today I realized
Something new I never had known
When I talk I don't really speak
I don't say what I really mean
Today I thought
If my last words
To anyone
Who might have heard
Were vicious well
What kind of man
Could I call myself then
Today I watched my cousin cry
A boy he knew
Today had died
And I only thought
Of what it means
To be family
In the thick of things

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