“The Journal – Songwriter’s Best Friend”

”The shortest pencil is better than the longest memory,” began my sixth-grade humanities teacher, emphatically. It seemed more like a humble request than a statement or fact. What the preteen version of myself didn’t realize (or care), is that he was speaking directly to the future songwriter in me. It took years of failed quizzes, botched tests, missed appointments, and forgotten birthdays for me to truly understand his plea.

“Footwear at a Funeral”

Blood-red moon shows the fire in the sky.
I wrestle with the truth, while he prepares to die.
8 hours of highway radio helps to pass the time.
But it’s Papa Staple, singing about Luke, that fills my mind.

(chorus)
It’s just all footwear at a funeral.
But the guest of honor don’t really care at all.
Your 15 cent shine that you got down the line
Won’t carry you home when you fall.

Awbrey Butte, After Dark

After the sun makes her encore performance, Jerry and I own Awbrey Butte. That’s not to say we hold the titles to the million dollar feax-craftsman castles that line the ridges, more like we patrol the streets and trails that criss-cross the butte. Working our way down the makeshift trails and empty lots, we set our sights on our primary destination, the River Trail. Catching it at the 1st Street Rapids, Jerry takes off with familiar excitement. Despite our different reasons, the waterfowl and I share a common goal; keeping Jerry out of the river.