Summer came in with a van full of names
New paint, old boards, and a match to the blame
Laughed at the stories, kicked through the leaves
Signed our names where the old wood breathes
The lake lay flat as a stone on a grave
Too calm, too cold, too hungry to save
Every window held a face we denied
Every ripple said somebody died
Don’t go down to the shore
Don’t look back through the trees
There’s a hand on the oar
There’s a curse in the breeze
Run from the blade, run for the trees
Hold your breath as the whole camp bleeds
No one sleeps as the past keeps score
Vengeance kills for the kid ignored
Generator coughs, then the black rolls in
Screen door slams with a rusty grin
Boot tracks vanish where the mud turns red
And the phone line hangs like a thing found dead
Somewhere a mother voice breaks in the storm
Sweet as a lullaby, sharp as a thorn
Says the past wants blood for the love it keeps
And the boy in her head tells her, stab them deep
Don’t go near the dock
Don’t turn toward the screams
There’s a shape in the fog
There’s a blade in the trees
Run from the blade, run for the trees
Hold your breath as the whole camp bleeds
No one sleeps as the past keeps score
Vengeance kills for the kid ignored
The water keeps a secret
In the black beneath the reeds
A birthday with no candles
A mouth that never breathes
A child voice below the pier
Not to save, just to be heard
A mother grieving, knife in hand
They get what they deserve
Arrow through the bed
Axe in the face
Knife through the throat
Machete at the lake
Run from the blade, run for the trees
Hold your breath as the whole camp bleeds
No one sleeps as the past keeps score
Vengeance kills for the kid ignored