Sister Cities

See the old man on the bridge
 He's hauling up a sagging net
 It's full of eels
 Twisting through the eye sockets of a horse's head
 And this fiend has no family
 So he will outlive you and me
 In the hospital, you talked about
 Thumbing down that truck ride for the first time
 And the false friend kept his back turned
 That's when you learned the fierceness of man
 Again, again, again
 How long it took to reach the sister cities
 And then somehow make it back
 Just to tell me, "Yeah, I guess I'm still pretty mad"
 Every other day, the same
 Long road to the old man down the street
 Neither one of you knows
 What the flowers in your hand are supposed to mean
 Red flowers against your, red flowers against your
 Painted shut window
 Help! My uncle's gone insane!
 In his room he sits, shaking a geranium
 Outside, the old dog, resigned,
 Leaves heavy tracks for the father dragging the rifle to find
 Every other day, the same
 Long road to the old man down the street
 Do you think someday, through all the flowers,
 Your eyes finally will meet?
 Where he'll tell you,
 "Honey, you know I had to shoot that dog you loved so much
 You know I had to do it"
 "Aw, honey, you know I had to shoot that dog you loved so much
 You know I had to do it"
 "Oh yeah, I know you had to shoot that dog I loved so much
 I know you had to do it"