Stay With Me

Stories of life

"Stay With Me"

A broken man can't see one more tomorrow.

Tears stream down the barrel of his gun.

Perhaps the bullet just might kill his sorrow;

at the very least, the man that he's become.

He grips the pistol, but then somhow he falters

Just before the gun can bring a violent end. 

His toilet might as well have been an alter

as he confides in his long-lost, faithful friend: 

Can You stay with me if only for a moment?

Just a little while and, I swear, I'll be just fine. 

Hold me close and tell me about atonement, 

Maybe I can find my place with You this time.

An old man gazes out across the morning.

He remembers when the bells of freedom rang.

But freedom fell not long after the warning 

heard in every old folk song he'd ever sang.

Three days with no food; he just wants water.

Who can eat with the smell of hatred in the air? 

He holds a crumpled picture of his daughter

And whispers soft a pleading, hopeless prayer:

Can You stay with me if only for a moment?

Just a little while and, I swear, I'll be just fine. 

Hold me close and tell me about atonement, 

Maybe I can find my place with You this time.

All my life, I've only known these troubles.

They empty every promise of good times. 

Now I'm buried here beneath this rubble;

reaching out with hands of written rhymes. 

Tragedy has always been my shadow.  

It follows me to tell me when I'm wrong.

Sometimes, I get tired from this long battle.

But it seems to put the ink in all my songs. 

Can You stay with me if only for a moment?

Just a little while and, I swear, I'll be just fine. 

Hold me close and tell me about atonement, 

Maybe I can find my place with You this time. 

Author's Note

Such is life