Preserved in Amber
The old man sets down his pencil
Tosses the whiskey back and lets it burn
Watches his neighbors dissolve into nightly chaos
Shakes his head from the ways they never learn
He can’t help but wonder
If he’s watching his life replay before his eyes
He feels the urge to pour another round
To chase away the demons in disguise
He picks up the telephone
Palms coated in years of nervous sweat
Each button is a little harder to press
And his mind is suddenly swimming in debt
Amber lives in the Carolinas
With a husband and brand new set of twins
There are questions to answer
But he can’t push the last number, again
He walks down a musty hallway
Skeletons in closets don’t sing lullabies
So he shuts them in one more night
Fighting the labor of compromise
Forgiveness is bait he may never catch
Facing dismal days and caustic nights
He dumps milligrams of stability into his hand
His body weak and his heart contrite
He counts the pills but keeps losing track
Memories bounce around like a pinball
Tilt...
Vultures of the past pursue him by nightfall
He wants her to know he’s sorry
For all the years of sorrow and despair
Her mother left battered and bruised
So many dreams shattered without repair
He knows one ship has sailed
And feels the last one leaving dock
He grips remorse and a pillow
Ticking off years like a grandfather clock
He clutches the pills in one hand
In the other he holds the phone
Vietnam wasn’t as hard as this moment
No weapons, just bitterly and utterly alone
He swallows pride in a dry mouth
And with the help of a final shot of Jack
He drops the pills, presses all seven numbers
A broken father calls his daughter back
(2014)
