Sister Cities

See the old man?

On the bridge?

He's hauling up a sagging net

It's full of eels

Twisting through the eye sockets of a horse's head

And this fiend has no family

So he will outlive

You and me

In the hospital you talked about

Thumbing down that truck ride

For the first time

And the false friend

Kept his back turned

That's when you learned

The fierceness of man

Again

How long it took to reach the

Sister cities

And then somehow make it back

Just to tell me, "yeah, I guess I'm still

Pretty mad"

Every other day

The same long road to

The old man down the street

Neither one of you knows

What the flowers in your hand

Are supposed to mean

Red flowers against your, red flowers against your

Painted shut window

Help! My uncle's gone insane

In his room he sits

Shaking a geranium

Outside, the old dog, resigned

Leaves heavy tracks for the father

Dragging the rifle to find

Every other day the same

Long road to the old man down the street

Do you think someday, through all the flowers

Your eyes finally will meet?

Where he'll tell you, "honey, you know I had to shoot that dog

You loved so much. Aw, know I had to do it. Aw, honey, you know I had

To shoot that dog you loved so much, you know I had to do it"

"Yeah, I know you had to shoot that dog I loved so much

I know you had to do it"