(+) California Poem
Close the door on a short night
Lift the lid on the daylight
6:09 West Tennessee time
And I buy all my days
At the same place
where the girl sells her nights
To a God of ocean tides
All night long
Writing poems to California
Melodies of failure
And the people I have thrown away
Meanwhile somewhere west of Carolina
In a congregation of strangers
We are digging holes to China
Then we pray to our reflections
In the water when it rises
I said headlights pin the highway down
Jesus spins the world around
And I’ll spend
all my tomorrows coming down
Goodbye all my days
I know I said I never loved you
But I might just try again tonight
Truck stops and river Gods
Gas stations of the Cross
Following a ghost
Following a ghost
I pray the water wash away
The memories and the cost
Cary me south to the sea
Along with your memories of me
We are born in the water
Now we return to Thee
Colored lights
And birthday cakes
Candle wax
On paper plates
Breathe the water
Hush-a-bye hush-a-bye
You can see through water
All the way up to the sky
Gods of water Gods of rain
Cover up the sun again
We are crossing
it at the Mississippi line
And I tried all my days
To love you just the way
you hoped I might
But I’m leaving here tonight
I can’t remember yesterday
I tried if I said I could I lied