westward

hank and willie's blastin as i crank the windows down
hit my face with warm spring wind
shakin off this town
the past is in my rear view mirror
push the pedal to the floor
california here i come
and you won't see me no more

draggin on an acid root freedom is my friend
miles of pavement rollin by
pacific coast's the end
pushin towards the sunset
i aint never lookin back
blue skies getting darker
as i shoot the railroad tracks


oh now i'm goin
i'm trippin westward
i'm travelin where i've wished i'd always been
you see i'm movin
i'm rollin westward
to the end


hear the wave's a crashin as i drive along the coast
clear my head and kiss my ears
with sound i love the most
park my ride above the beach
walk along the sand
i can't help but thank the Lord
i'm such a lucky man


oh now i'm goin
i'm trippin westward
i'm travelin where i've wished i'd always been
you see i'm movin
i'm rollin westward
where i wanna be
where i need to be
where i'm glad i am

into the ground

candles flicker in the breeze
on the windowsill by the magazines
a bucket of flowers sits close to the door
quietly yellow white and green
quietly aging
into the ground

underneath where the dirt is cold
under the porch where the baseball rolled
the worn tight white cowhide
turned muddy brown
even the stitching
has come unwound
into the ground

the downcast gablefront
with aluminum skin
peeling paint
and the rain-leaking mezzanine
leans more than it stands
into the ground

down the street
past the patchwork church
over the meadow
the hardware store burned down
five years ago last spring
into the ground

it seems like an ice age has passed
scouring the landscape
rocks trees and grass
are dead or dying
into the ground

the passing of time
crumbles the old town down
brick by plank
nail by tack
into the ground