dad and me
my dad took me out of school one day
smilin in some different way
lookin clean and wild
like some wonder child
lets run away, get out and play
try and be cool for awhile
sit on the car and look up
drink root beer from dixie cups
watch the heat of day
turn an ashy gray
it's like nothin you ever seen, kid
this great big sky machine
it swallows up the sun
shuts it off like a power grid
man when you see that sheen
of in between
it's like heaven slid
right into view
and what they say
about God and His ways
it's true
he talked softer than he ever had
like maybe just by bein there I made him glad
we stretched out on the hood
and I understood
why I'd always been so sad
when I finally got what I shoulda had
a dad
he leaned his head in close
pointed to a sky that glowed
watch 'em kid
watch His little shadow show
watch Him take it away, watch it sway
see, we're no accident,
you and me
we were meant
we're sposed to be
and we're findin out why today
see, he said,
God dreamed you
studied a map of what was good and bad
found a middle, drew it in his sketch pad
added a dash of home brew
went to sleep one night
boom, flash a light
--then you
and then it was time,
time all of a sudden,
time to look up and watch the sky begin
expand with a sun like a fryin pan
my dad grabbed my hand
felt him squeeze
my heart seized
tight and mean like a coiled spring
blood pulsing--
I knew when the sun sliced through
like a glowin slinger ring
there was God
a great big connecting rod
between me and everything
I meant to remember it all
I almost do
his pauses, his breaths
it was like a soft little death
when he drew up quiet
after the heat of the riot
of the sky like magic
in a world half blue
like it was bein born anew
a certainty in the shapes
no light left to escape
a beautiful wreck
of glory unchecked
my dad looked perfect
watching the sun and moon intersect
a smooth slow line
night and day entwined like a sign
everything's brand new
it's all for you
and maybe what they say
about God and His ways
it's true
and I loved him so much
my throat choked up
words strayed halfway
between my heart and my lungs
clung on my tongue
weighin a ton
more than the sun
so bright they stung
so bright they ignite
old flashes of light
lyin somewhere inside
the burial site
of when I was young
and the song my dad sung
stretches out like rungs
of the day we rode side by side
and watched the sun collide
like a lantern slide
with the moon God hung
my dad
so alive
I beamed with pride
you could hear his heart beatin a mile away
and maybe what they say
about God and His ways--
maybe my luck through
I finally outgrew
when I saw my dad's eyes
on a cool blue half day
when night rode through
for a minute or two
and I finally knew
what it meant to cling to
a hand that loved you
maybe what they say
about God and His ways
it's true
