God Of Ocean Tides

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.