City On the Edge of Town

[good4somethingbum]

City On the Edge of TownOut past the boarded up cattle barn by the interstateThere’s a sad metropolis of boxes and packing cratesJasper founded this place when his portfolio tankedHis broker skipped to Brazil and his condo became the bank’sHe pushed two old fridges together..built a fire and settled downHis new apartment, had pine needles for carpetIn the city on the edge of townIt’s got a cardboard skyline over a dyin’ creekThe footpath through the fire barrels is the dirt main streetSandy found refuge there after escaping her foster homeOn the autumn night her baby came she wasn’t aloneOld Seymour poured Thunderbird over some wood he foundHer daughter was warm, the hour she was bornIn the city on the edge of townChester was an army chaplain back in ‘74But the enemy didn’t care about the cross he woreNow he rolls through preachin’ the rapture in his rusty chairSays that thing’ll drop from the sky when he meets God in the airBreezes sneak down rabbit trail alleys when the leaves turn brownThey whisper in the tongue of angels, each of them are strangersIn the city on the edge of townJasper wrapped that baby in his coat like swaddling clothesThe north star welcomed his spirit on the night he frozeChester read scripture by the creek and they laid Jasper downA cross of crooked pine, is the city limit signFor the city on the edge of town©2007 Robert George