W.C.

Twenty-one years
of broken promises and dead-end jobs
I am ready to
I am ready to go
Oregon's a lover
to my soul Carolina
3000 miles away
but you might as well be
a few blocks up the street

Twenty-five years
of pills and remedies
and nothing ever came close
to the time we had
ain't you ready to go
I'm always ready to go
Tell me about your friends
your day at work
and your thrills

Tell me 'bout the time
we stole a car in Houston
and drove it to California
with a dog we didn't know
tell me about your heartache
who could be so unkind
as to leave you broken-minded
without anyone to listen
to the voices in your head

Times you go to bed
with the day ringing in your head
traffic lights are a blur
seems so far astray
like a dog that's run away
like a train off the tracks
a homeless man
wet backpacks
the sharp edge of an ax

When the day begins
and when the work bell rings
the sheets will be warm
strewn with fresh dreams
of a life down by the sea
where the water runs free
down the street and seams
of life in the balance
of a world with chance

- RLB 9-22-15