See the old man on the bridge, he's
hauling up a sagging net
it's full of eels twisting through
the eyesockets of a horse's head
and this fiend has no family
So he will outlive you and me
In the hospital you talked about thumbing down that
truck ride for the first time
And the false friend
kept his back turned,
that's when you learned
The fierceness of man
again
How long it took to reach the sister cities
And then somehow make it back
Just to tell me
“Yeah, I guess I'm still
pretty mad”
Every other day
The same long road to the old man down the street
And neither one of you knows
What the flowers in your hand
Are supposed to mean
Red flowers against your
painted shut window
Help!
My uncle's gone insane
In his room he sits
shaking a geranium
outside
the old dog, resigned
leaves heavy tracks for the
father dragging the rifle to find
Every other day
The same long road to
the old man down the street
Do you think someday
Through all the flowers your eyes finally will meet?
Where he'll tell you Honey you know I had to shoot that dog you loved so much
You know I had to do it
Yeah I know you had to shoot that dog
I loved so much
I know you had to do it.