She dealt herself a hand of solitaire
and saw her face in the Queen of Spades.
The Jack of Clubs repeated her last prayer
and wept as she unwound her braids.
Sweet Susie is lost in a circle,
spinning around a new moon.
Esau will wander till he finds her,
still spinning when the stars shine at noon.
A stranger came to town to strike a deal
to sell the little that he owned.
Nothing comes of bargain-basement stories.
His buried hatchet was never found.
She put the cracked old cribbage board between them
and dealt the first of their many hands.
Fifteen two, and a double run made ten.
The hourglass ran out of sand.
After she had left, he struck a match
but didn't light her oil lamp.
The candles burned, then the tattered blankets,
then the mattress, and then the camp.
credits
from Somebody's Hometown,
released June 9, 2015
Words and music by Andrew Shields
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