I wake in the dawn of the cold misty dew light Kickin and drinkin warm milk while Im cryin In the sterilized smell of my unsure surroundings Feelin warm hands as Im passed back and forth And Im wigglin and crawlin and reaching out slowly Strange sounds at my elbow but no way to make them The shapes of big colors and lights all around me Comin to grips with the cold hard linoleum Pushin and pullin as I travel in circles Unsure on my knees as I crawl towards the table Unsteady on legs as Im findin my balance My legs stretchin out and a wish to go walkin Out in the road in the gravel and sunshine Out on the earth with my feet in the short grass The shadows of barn and garage learnin quickly A switch to my bottom and on the bed cryin In the dawn of the mornin the vague early mornin At the start of the daytime of life Standin out here by an old pile of lumber A long shiny track thats still silently ringin And the last southbound freight that was two oclock passin And I in my Levis my cigarettes twisted In the arm of a tshirt Im smart like a rooster You stand here in front of me heavily breathin Your long brown hair matted with sweat as were silent The beads like last Christmas that lay on your bosom I feel the exploding of some inner self Thats more lasting and longing than the carcass surrounding The bursting of love that is pleading now for you That creeps in our eyes and it colors our thinkin And tingles our hands and our arms and our foreheads As the flesh is now talkin in words that are quiet In the hot afternoon as were makin our plans As we walk through the daytime of life A baby comes cryin and laughin and kickin And drinkin warm milk as its handled so gently And afternoon comes to see three other babies Playin and runnin their bodies fast growin Sundown comes sneakin around by the back door My joints gettin stiffer and movin more slowly My hair gettin thinner and turnin to driftwood Then goin downhill in the still of the evenin So peaceful and gentle Im not in a hurry Just passin the grave of a friend I once played with The pine needles soft underfoot as Im walkin And children come runnin to guide their grandfather And if you dont mind Ill just sit in the shadows And rest and go slowly Im gettin so tired My head on a pillow a doctor now holdin my wrist As hes feelin the veins barely throbbin My grandchildren standin around by my bedside And now through the mist I can faint see them cryin But I will be comfortable here on the cushions of silk all around me I think I must sleep in the cool deep And its midnight
cryin, unsure, daytime, slowly, warm