The Last Straw, Laid Quiet

[Verse 1]
It wasn’t the sirens
Nor smoke in the air
Not headlines like hailstones
That taught me to care
It came like a splinter
From words at the door
Your “sure,
That’s just normal”
I couldn’t ignore
[Chorus]
That was the last straw
Laid quiet and small
Slipped in the crack of the everyday wall
I heard my own silence
It tasted like shame
So I’m learning to stand
And to call things by name
If this is the last straw
Then let it be seen
May it stitch up the tear where the hurt has been
[Verse 2]
The man on the corner
Had slept there for years
We stepped round his body
Like puddles of tears
Till your child asked the question
You dodged with a joke
And the truth in the shiver
Was louder than smoke
[Chorus]
That was the last straw
Laid quiet and small
Slipped in the crack of the everyday wall
I heard my own silence
It tasted like shame
So I’m learning to stand
And to call things by name
If this is the last straw
Then let it be seen
May it stitch up the tear where the hurt has been
[Bridge]
We’re late to the meeting
But the fire’s not out
There are hands still reaching
Through rubble and doubt
If all that I offer
Is one steady thread
May it tie up the living
Not tighten the dead (oh no)
[Chorus]
This is the last straw
Laid quiet and small
Slipped in the crack of the everyday wall
Let mercy run riot through system and vein
Let justice walk gentle
Yet never again tame
If this is the last straw
Then let it be seen
May it open the wound to a wide
Healing green
[Outro]
If hearts can turn stubborn
They can turn back too
So I’ll carry my straw
Till it carries us through

Intimate Irish Folk, Irish drum carrying the heartbeat, Irish whistle and violin weaving together, female only vocals.