There’s no more devil on my shoulder
and my angel is long gone,
even my dreams have turned to humdrum,
I lift my head and carry on.
I give short shrift to the apostles
of another, loving dawn;
it’s pay to play in the their new castles,
crowded house and rousing song.
I exit out to the dark throughway
by the door that let me in,
and walk with shadows as my cadre
unconvinced to drown my sin.
Where once I lingered in the doorways
of a thousand dives and bars,
I now move swiftly through the streetlights
to the song of passing cars.
I have sought solace in a bottle,
looked for redemption in a vein,
dabbled in every religion
and swore to never fall again,
for empty promises of virtue,
a pretty face,
an angel’s name,
so I desert my spirit humbly,
back out in the street again.
It is the search that finds my favor.
It is the night that holds my heart.
The daylight sharper than a razor
poised to cut the world apart.
I find my place with souls and shadows,
I find myself in space between.
Let the whole world ignore what I know,
let them be blind to what I’ve seen.
I’m lost to the sky in my journey,
even my dreams have all been solved.
Blood has become my institution
and all my sins have been absolved.
So now it’s back into the streetlights,
between the shadows on the walls,
my muse, my heart, my inspiration
I will soon come to you when called.
-HG
