Hector and Chino

In the land of the damned with fake thick skin like bark

The children were jeering a boy in the park

Blind in one eye from the day he was born

It was common for all one-eyed boys to be scorned

Hector cried from the children's cruel rejections

And on top of that he had no depth perception

They spit in his face and they gave him no pity

But that was the way kids used to act in the city

In a city without pity no one cries many tears

And they always express way too much of their fears

Through their anger which never gets bottled up inside

While they gradually develop a tough enough hide

Now, Chino was blind as a bat

He had little or no use for a map

To a city of light in which his sight was his touch

And the children all loved him so much

The extent of their love was eternal

Growing out like a seed from a kernel

In his presence they would be very nervous and faint

For Chino was revered as a saint

And Hector loved Chino so much Hector

For Chino had a refined sense of touch

He could pick a lock in the light of the moon

And help all his friends rob the neighborhood's rooms

They would cut him in for a part of the take

Take him out! Live it up! Buy him steak

To people with vision robbers all look the same

But none of them suspected the red and white cane

the boy with the red and white cane

Life was smooth for his partners in crime

With him they never feared facing time

Their heists worked as smooth as a wheel and a cog

And with loot that they took they bought a seeing eye dog

One night on the fourth of July

One-eyed Hector was so lonely he cried

He wanted to go out that night and play

But he didn't want to go alone to the fireworks display

Now Chino felt sorry for Hector's great sadness

And, perhaps to atone for his badness

Chino went with him out to the old fairgrounds Chino

Even if only to share with him the exploding sounds

The tension in the air rose a full latin mile

The brilliant display shone upon Hector's smile

A rocket shot up like a drunken old fly

And it came down and put out Hector's only good eye

Hector and Chino strolled home hand in hand

Two sad saints negating an unseen land

Misfortune is strange: It can make people wise

When they find out that if God is love -- love is blind