The Cheapest Cigarettes

Two tall cans and the cheapest cigarettes to relieve

An honest man and another honest day of working.

It'll help him through the night;

It'll help him get some sleep.

Then he's up again and he's standing on the corner hoping

His dirty hands can once again earn him a living.

Then it's to the liquor store

Another night spent on the street

Then a thought occurs to me

With a knot inside my throat I balance on

A rope thinner than feet a thousand feet above

A canyon floor with one exception;

Everyone can clearly see the safety net waiting

For my falling body.

Look deep inside of muscles sore; there's acid eating

But there's still life in spite of everything retreating

Because a day of work still beats

Not having any days at all.

What good is pride? It never stopped a stomach aching

What good are rights when all you want is to be eating?

A little shelter from the rain

A little comfort in the cold

A stubborn thought it sickens me

And I never learned a better lesson

Than what I can't articulate about a smile and a sense of something better

In what should be desolate and desperate

Disenfranchised and disappointing and so distraught

I'm a fake a fraud a phone every step I take

In a broken smile, he reminded me

My net is bigger than a falling body.

My hands are clean but my soul is dirty.