She Still Sings

He seems like a nice kid,

With wind between his ears,

Sucking down gin

With tonic.

---

The barstool shakes

When traffic passes by,

And this girl is singing,

Flat,

And dark,

And beautiful.

---

Like the cold black sky

Above.

---

And thank God,

Thank God,

The verses keep coming.

---

They calm the voice

Inside.

The one that burns,

And drives a man to drink.

---

While all these sad eyes,

They cast about

For something greater,

Something better

Than what is.

---

But me,

My eyes are down,

With my drink.

---

And I twirl my straw

Clockwise,

While my mind turns

With muddled thoughts,

To the great Goddess above;

And how beautiful

She must be.

---

Dear Lord,

She smiles,

Though not on me.

---

And the snow outside,

It turns to rain.

And the headlights

Shine no brighter.

---

All our hearts,

They beat no louder,

No faster.

A steady thrum.

Like that rain.

Like the cold.

---

Then we raise our glasses,

Like there's some fucking thing

To celebrate,

While we sit here,

And bleed.

---

But thank God,

Thank God,

That girl still sings,

---

Flat,

And dark,

And beautiful.