A Woman at the Well

I been doing this forever, God, turning hours into days

And I know I’m only worth what a man sees fit to pay

Don’t even whores need bread and water,
even whores too tired to pray?

I guess not.  I’m just a woman at a well

I wear bells to hear them jingle

Like the laughter of a child

That I will never hold against me

Never kiss them as they cry

And I wear veils because they cover

All the things I want to hide

All the scars the wars the battles

All the weary working miles

Dear God, I’m tired. 
I am the woman at the well.

                                             

I clean the house and pay the bills,

take out the trash, wipe up the spills

Drive kids to school and football games
and home again…

After the kids are bathed and fed,

the dishes washed, school papers read,

I take a shower, climb in bed and try to feel
Alive.

Alarm clock rings, I’m out the door

It’s barely quarter after four

To beat the rush and be the one 
who offers more

Coffee for breakfast, and for lunch,

served over schedules, forms and such,

I don’t have time for nine to five

I just survive. Im just a woman.

at a well.

And I wear suits because they cover

All the things I want to hide

All the worries and the hurries and

All the weary working miles

I have to fake it til I make it, but oh

God, I am so tired.

I’m just a woman,

Just a woman at a well.

I been sitting by this well for nearly fifty seven years

And in all this time of waiting Lord I’ve cried a million tears

Thinking surely someone somewhere’s gonna see me sitting here

But all they see is just a woman
A woman at a well