Naked as the Stars

a song

my father built our house from railroad ties
my sisters poked me with a spike when i was young
we had a dog we caged with solemn eyes
my mother wore a badge but she never shot a gun

the Blissfield railway carries gasoline
nostalgia for the thirties makes my grandma weep
the virtue of the rust is trapped in seams
in twilight hours full of mugginess and sleep

with the songs we sang
and the games we played
i wanted to be naked as the stars
in the tired night
we take delight
in the sound of roaring tires from our cars

a rabbit rushes through our own backyard
the summer rain storms make us sink into the grass
the fire pit is nothing but a char—
a kind of smell that only autumn can make pass

a tired yawn, my uncles drink their beers
and tell us stories from their days in borderlands
the trainbells ring, the whistle brings out fear
in the chilly night and my mother grabs my hand

with the songs we sang
and the games we played
i wanted to be naked as the stars
in the tired night
we take delight
in the sound of roaring tires from our cars