Rest of My Life and then Some

listening to pearl jam right now. that really doesn't have anything to do with the poem

 

Friday afternoon, on Veteran’s Day,

I’m half-drunk, unwashed and unshaven.

The Captain tells me to go downtown,

So I follow his decree.

With his velvet glove

He hands me his wooden compass

With the directions marked in gold.

I’m lead to an antique jeweler

With dusty porcelain bears in the window.

The bells clink as I walk inside

And a church-lady comes to service me.

Before me she lays a small fortune

In various gold and diamonds

All in different cuts and styles

Which mean nothing to me. 

The thought of snapping her neck

And running away with the horde

Quickly pops in my mind,

But this is a sacred day.

Of course, they have the perfect stone.

She fumbles through some salesmanship

Talking of sales and discounts

I feign interest; my gaze is attached

To the band my Wife will carry

Till skeletal hands reach out

From silken black robes

And snatch her away to the Underworld.

I feel its power over me.

I would gladly take this ring and

Venture underneath a mountain

To spend eternity worshiping a stone.

Yet, there is a stronger force

Pulling on the strings of my soul.

The plastic card drops from my hand

While I swap my signature

For a small piece of immortality.

Quickly, I hurry home

To bury my treasure

Until the Captain sees fit

To bestow it upon my lady.