Secondhand Guitar

[good4somethingbum]

Secondhand GuitarSecondhand guitarLeaned against the wall by my old bedYou rescue dreams trapped in my headEach and ev’ry nightCome sunrise when I caress your stringsSomehow my haunted soul can singWhat my heart tries to hideIf my mind is foggy from a night of drinkin’You help me read the scribbled lines I wroteCos you can feel what my whiskey rhymes were thinkin’When my fingers reach for that first blue noteSecondhand guitarWhat inspires me in dark saloonsTo sing the ladies tear-soaked tunesScares them off in the endBut I don’t curse the void in my chestCos the joy I find in lonelinessIs what made you my friendSecondhand guitarYour finish has begun to fadeYour strings are weary…your strap is frayedYet songs fight harder to be freeAnd my shadow has begun to shrinkWhiskers fall greyer in my sinkAnd my soul wants its leave of meBut secondhand guitarWatching over me against my bedroom wallSoon death’ll sneak past you down the hallAnd steal my dawn awayThe landlord will pawn you for last week’s rentWhen some old minstrel pays his last centMaybe he’ll feel me when he plays(c)2007 Robert George