(Song of gratitude to St. Francis of Assisi) My patron saint's a man who went From town to town and paid no rent The things he owned besides his soul Were shoes a gown and a begging bowl What struck me first when I was young Was how he never got bit or stung Though bears and snakes he did befriend Real bears and snakes not just pretend I knew this wasn't easy stuff Because I tried it myself enough But bears and snakes they ran from me Though dogs and cats came willingly Deep within the wooded calm He sang a song a simple psalm "Make me an instrument of thy peace
Let love be sown and hatred cease" Now me I live beyond my means In the city of lost and broken dreams With too many pairs of shoes That take me round and round the blues And the price of things is never low Or else it isn't worth the go And taking time turns out to give The time it takes to really live You may not know who you are Until you get hit by a star Like I did and lived to say It happened on my saint's feast day So I'm still here where I belong And many years have come and gone Since that dance, since that kiss, Francis