You and I went walking down the road to his café
Counting empty houses
Feeling like two louses in the neck of a sparrow

And I continued on when someone called for you
Pacing through the seconds in a chore
I watched you fall to pieces that July
Leaving in my clothes that you’d outworn

We had crossed the Platte River
The end of December
The heater was broken; we shivered inside
I crossed into Denver the moment he died

The doctor told you what you knew all along
And you told me in Walmart up by Castle Rock
My heart; it erupted; I spun you around
While locals with pitchforks said we were clowns

But I ran out of money by November
I took up busy work by tending to the bar
Just outside the city; on a gravel country road
We took to the shelter when the weather got too cold

And soon, the money was coming in
Salt was selling faster than Beyoncé
I took us out to dances; put a lien on a home
You were feeling golden; we could finally be alone

Habits die hard under diamonds of pressure
Wishing I had checked out when you came
The VA wasn’t kind to me; I wasn’t kind to him
Nearly drank myself to death at Vicky’s Bar

Finally we ended up where we were all along
Your mother tried to tell you we were wrong
I came back home to care for him and stay
You started to grow restless and uneasy

I was waiting for you at the top of the stair
You slowly said goodbye
I was never really one to ask you why.