All Along

Copyright 2005 Robert Lindsay Nathan, Jr.

I paid off all my debts
With a lifetime of regrets.
And I called in all my bets,
On a dream I ain’t had yet.

And I hit the open road
With a pocket full, of empty songs
Told all my friends
That I wouldn’t be gone to awfully long.
But my dis-jointed destiny
Knows I’m crazy and I don’t belong
You should’a been with me all along

So I sit here once again
With paper and a pen
And no rhyme to begin
Or story line to spin

What could be worse,
My languishing life or chaotic verse?
And what came first,
This random route or cantonic curse?
When a candle burns at both ends
No one knows where the story begins
You should’a been with me all along

Somewhere on the open range
I began to feel a little strange
The cactus spoke; said “you need to change”
I felt my spirit rearrange

So all it took at best
Was this unplanned trip into the west
As the dry air filled my chest
I finally felt my soul at rest

I found a new verse
And its melody began to burst
All about
A new beginning, I began to shout
If a candle burns at both ends
Slice it in two; a new story begins
I should’a left you long ago
Why‘d I keep your memory with me so damn long?.