cigarette before graduation

flashback to june 02

in an attempt to make

the high school dream

last just a little bit longer,

a trip to wal mart is in order!

a willie nelson cd

and a pack of smokes

before it's back to the dimly lit porch

staring out into the horizon of the night,

but an old man i promised a ride to

over a year ago

finally takes me up on the offer.

two birds in a cage,

black and white photographs,

a young man with a cigarette,

and an old man with a pipe.

"when you think about

how quickly people enter and leave

it's amazing we ever met at all"

the words of the old

echo the thoughts of the young.

home again.

I have these pictures and I keep these photographs
To remind me of a time
These pictures and these photographs
Let me know I'm doin' fine
I used to make you happy once upon a time
But the sun sank west of the Mendocino County Line

a duet i wish i'd sang

while my partner strummed

her purple guitar.

our voices united

in cosmic perfection,

the way our bodies never would,

but a young heart can dream

but a young heart will dream.

there's a red car in a field

and hundreds of souls

partaking in blind ritual.

three voices call out

from the visitor's side.

you don't have to look;

you know she's not there.

there's a red car in a field,

and that is all.

a slow drive down the lane

before it's over,

truly, over.