In stark liquid darkness I drown Only the voices in my head to convince me I'm still among the land of the living One sounds like me The other sounds like my dad After his voice turned weak Only two days into a hospital stay When a blood clot killed him in the middle of the night I was not there I ask if he was asleep when it happened He avoids the question I ask if he died in pain and confusion, alone in the darkness He wants to talk about George Jones So I talk to him about George Jones And Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard All the country singers I love in part Because he loved them so I stand outside and listen to the conversation He never asks me why I wasn't there I never tell him I let him talk and talk and talk some more Until his voice sounds even more sore Leukemia had it's prize stolen from right before it's eyes They'd onlyΒ Β had time to shave his head He didn't look much like my dad I ask him how he made it seem easier than it was He seemed to take my mother's leaving harder But that was a long time ago, those years Probably taught him some tricks He said it was easier Because I wasn't there