Tulsa

I met Jack for a drink one night
In Tulsa Oklahoma
He was working on the road crew
I was just passing through
On the long way from Baton Rouge to Arizona

Jack was drinking coffee
At the table by the stairs
Music came up loud
I leaned in close to talk above the crowd
He put his hand on my arm and left it there

I said — Jack, when you left town
My house of cards came all the way down
I felt a little used and kind of bitter
But time goes by and so much has changed
We’ve both been to hell and back and hey,
It was good to get your letter

Jack said — There is so much I regret
All that pain and trouble
I was living hard and going for broke
I burned that road as far as it would go
I was working high when the scaffold buckled

Weeks I drifted out of dreams
On the ward at the mercy of machines
I fell so far no one could reach me
So when a voice spoke to my soul
In that holiest of hellholes
I was ready to listen and believe

Jack, I said
You’ve never seemed so strong or looked so good
You are where you should be, that’s for sure
But you know, I don’t live in that world
Though there are times I wish I could

Out the westbound highway thinking
Maybe if I had another drink or two
I wouldn’t feel so lost and doubting
And on the way to Arizona
I thought - Jack, you know I’ve never really known you
I just know a lot about you

©2004 Annie Gallup

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