Blue Highways

BLUE HIGHWAYS When fall has come To the landlocked lawns of the city suns And all the lemons that we've loved lay brown and scattered in the sun Oh how does it happen that we stall for a while, we keep jumping them back I couldn't answer then The keys were heavy in my swollen hands I said, go, little sister Go where you're wanted Where the lists that you're made of won't fall from your pocket I wanted to catch them as they flew from your wallet but my hands are made of holes when they're wanted And only our future knows exactly when to come and precisely where to go When all we've ever hoped to hold has vanished into song and is held here in our lungs Go, little sister, crawl back to the cradle we shared when we were infants our fingers unable to master the threads of these delicate instruments we prodded and pressed against, haunted and hesitant We held them again and again until the tones they hummed were infinitely small Crawl, little sister, crawl under the wire Where the straws that we drank from were dandelion fibers and the loves that we've lost they all roll on like tires and the highway is infinite highway is infinitely long So come now, with nettles in your clothes and the locket made of bone you found so long ago Cause all we ever hope to own will vanish into song and be held here in our lungs