by Ryan Christian

Created on: December 18, 2008

My car broke down on an old dirt road not far from Birmingham

I watched the cars pass by on the far highways...(oh all my luck be damned)

But an angel came to me with the roiling wind, and a soft glow behind her; and reached out toward me with arms stretched wide and touched the air around me.

Oh how your mind can lie, when the light fades and silence settles in. And it brings all memories forth, like the greatest times, and all the old, old faces (you once knew).

I leaned against the car, with the wind on my back and the sun setting behind me.

I smoked my last cigarette and watched the car headlights pass along to nowhere.

And an angel came to me with the purple sky, and the swaying grass behind her. She gazed out toward me with soft blue eyes and danced among the dust.

Oh, how your mind can wander when you're all alone... and no one can hear you calling. And then bring all memories forth like the faintest dreams, and cast away the long, long years.

Oh, feel your soul jump and squeeze, because the weight of all the seas couldn't hold you down if you wanted to go. But in the end you know you'd lose all the words and all the truths that hold your fragile life together so loosely.

I felt the cold wash in like a funeral song, and walked toward the cascading city lights.

But an angel followed me in my darkest days, and moved her hand to guide me. And never once did I forget the old dirt road on the way to Birmingham.

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