There are only a few more tears
And only for me
For I am gone
And weep no more
Five and maybe six
Fall upon the barren ground
And nothing grows there
Droplets in the dust
Bearing circlets of grey
Like the children
Of dead hope
And despair

I'm riding the line
Smokin' rubber
Squealing tires
120 in the middle of the night
As fast as I can go
Into dark curves
Seen only
By the double yellow line
I can smell the engine burning
But I can't slow it down
Smoke
Smoke
And no fire
But I'm ridin' the line
With no where else to go
In the middle of the night

The trigger has already been pulled
The hammer is on it's way down
All I have to do now is wait
For a giant chunk of lead
And one more moment of pain

She couldn't touch him
Not for one moment
Dead not on the cross
But at the crossroads
Crucified on the splintered tree
Speed
Speed
Rubber
Metal and grief
And he was buried in an empty coffin
Trash
Like a beer can
And his mother
The only one who really cared
Never even got to see him

He cast himself against the rocks
And the waves and the cold
Ground him into sand
Yet still
As a man
He tried to stand
But the surf
The power and the fury
Of the earth
Pounded him
And pounded him
Until he could no longer stand
And slowly
Wave by wave
He was taken out to sea

Echoes from the past

Bounced off of dim

Tobacco stained walls

Make their way

Into my room

Pastel green and blue

Mute the sound

Of

Poker chips and laughter

Chairs scraping the floor

Clinking and choking

Din and loudness

Makes me

Just as happy

As the room full of family

It chases the darkening night

And childhood fear

Like whispering smoke

Breathed from the dragons ’round the table

Downing whiskey and stories

Laughing

Not knowing

But singing sweet lullabies

In the dark

Singing down the hallway

Sweet goodnight

She was a child when she left

But when she returned

The man she used to know was gone

He had grown old

His bones thin

His belly fat

He still laughed

But the light in his eyes

Had grown dim

But still

She laughed along with him

And smiled at him

And pretended

That they were both

Still young