Stranded Town

she lives in a stolen car

down by the river

could be my stolen car

and if it was I’d probably forgive her

she came from Iowa

or maybe Tennessee

wound up stranded

don’t you see

stranded in a stranded town

money is as money does

and that’s the reason why

the windows all get dirtier

when somebody like her passes by

it’s a duality of opposites

in this part of town

everything either shiny new

or else it’s broken down

my hands are cleaner

than the hands of some of theirs

but the dirt is in the system

and its everywhere

and there is no antiseptic

that can do this kind of dirt

we’re gonna have to amputate

and it’s gonna hurt

storm clouds comin’ in

rain is pourin’ down

water seeks its own level

and its that level where we drown

when we are stranded

in a stranded town

caught between the mirrors

of success and blind ambition

is there anyone accountable

or is it just a random imposition

we bury them in landfills

beyond the shadows of our doubt

we honor them with candles

and then we blow them out