Redeemed

[good4somethingbum]

RedeemedIt was deathly still and midnight was drawin’ nearI cursed the quiet cos I couldn’t help but overhearSomethin’ tapped his window as he picked at his trayHe had some steak then pushed the biscuits awayLooked at the preacher then looked at the floorAnd talked of finding his dad’s old .44How he saw a bluebird on a Maple branchAnd how shooting it made a boy feel like a manBut now the blank eyes of that poor bluebirdWould haunt him till he was a box of dirtSaid he took it back each night in his dreamsHoping some way, somehow he’d wake up redeemedSmoke from his Winston curled up ‘round his headHe knew his life was a long ash on a short cigaretteHis leg irons rattled as his face went darkAnd he talked of a deal gone bad outside a Brownsville barSomeone pulled a fast one, someone pulled a knifeHe pulled a gun and lived but didn’t surviveCos that Texas judge was hard n meanAnd said that killer couldn’t be redeemedAs I walked that dead man down the hall that that nightHe whispered to me and I wondered if I heard him rightBut it was the least I could do to honor his last requestI set his tray outside ‘neath that bluebird’s nestthe bird ate those biscuits then took to the skyJust after twelve unseen wings followed him on highCos thinkin’ back on that night it seemsWith his last deed his soul was redeemed©2007 Robert George