Belong

[couchgrouch]

BelongRay jumped off a freight on the heartland plainthe midnight sky was peaceful and clearstarlight lay across high golden grainlike thin foam on a tall grass of beerthough he'd used his belt to wrap his left armthe stain on his shirt had begun to spreadbut it was just a few miles to that old farmand years away hadn't dulled his mem'ries yetcos right or wrong all a heart ever wantsis to be where it feels it belongsas a boy Ray loved that spotted horsehe used to race him hill to daisy hillthen Dad sat him down and said his best coursewas to sell that farm to cover his billsthat new farmer hitched his horse to a plowand Ray was hitched to St. Looey's asphalt plainshot-wired his first car near a mall downtownand cold handcuffs replaced that horse's reinsbut right or wrong all a heart ever wantsis to be where it feels it belongsRay bounced from Juvy Halls to county jailsalways lookin' to scare up that one big scorebut when he left that last Montana cellhe knew he couldn't wear leg irons no moreso when he robbed that cafe in Cheyenneand two deputies shot their way insidehe stuffed some sugar packets in his pantsand slipped out the back into the nightcos right or wrong all a heart ever wantsis to be where it feels it belongsRay found that farm thanks to the moon on highand he slid under a rusty wire fencethat horse was slow and half blind in one eyebut he still knew his old master's scentwell, the law had trailed Ray to that trainthen hounds tracked him to that patch of landthey found Ray lying near a field of grainold horse sniffing the sugar packets in his handcos right or wrong all a heart ever wantsis to be where it feels it belongs(c)2006 Robert George