Born a ’58 in ‘49

My batteries dead
I’m sure of it
I’ve turned it over
let it run
but now I can’t get a spark out of her

It’s just another thing on the list
sending in forms, calling offices,
jumping batteries, & paying strangers

I look at the list
and I feel exhausted
I could fall asleep right now
in any room in this house

If I stop for even a minute
I’ll lose everything
and befallen by sleep,
my dreams will run me to & fro
on the streets of a sunless day
until I’ve nothing left to do
and nowhere else to run
I’ll wake up & be free
listening to the words from the speakers
instead of the sounds of the alarms

From the mass of my guts I muster
the will to wake up and face the day
without ever feeling
brave enough
but the truth is
there are two kinds of bravery
in this world
that which conquers fear,
& that which never knows it

The cruel joke
is that nobody knows
what kind of bravery they got
until it fails them
like the brake on a train
like a jammed trigger
like poison in your coffee