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The Spillway

I drove down to the lake today
Where the water flowed in through the old spillway
Lazy and bored I figured I'd just sit
Drink a beer or two and daydream a bit

I parked right next to a gnarled oak tree
In solitude where I wanted to be
Eighty eight point five played my favorite songs
I couldn't help myself so I sang along

Till I had a fancy to explore
I opened up the rusty blue Dodge Ram door
All bundled tight in my wool poncho
I stepped out the truck into ten below

Where the Permian red mud squished beneath my boots
Onto the flat full of geese and coots
The sky was depressing, dark and grey
Like you'd expect it to be on a funeral day

But I hadn't gone there to sulk or brood
Watching water fill the lake is always good
I walked a fair distance to the northeast side
Skipped a few rocks on the by and by

And just when I was sure that I was all alone
Up comes a hobo with a mangy redbone
I could tell by the look in his careful eye
That he was just as scared of me as to him was I

I put out my hand to introduce myself
Saying 'What's with the weather? It's cold as hell! '
He, 'That's a contradiction. It's about to snow'
Me, 'Yes, no, maybe and I just don't know'

He told me then that his name was Sam
He was down on his luck but not on the flim flam
And trusting I reached to scratch the red dog's ears
Something telling me there was nothing to fear

And Sam and I walked in unison
He did most of the talkin; me the listening
He pointed to a place in a far off nook
Where his tent was hid away in a secret crook

Sam said, 'It isn't much, but I call it home'
'I've gotta can o' beans and some stale corn pone'
So we sat on the ground and I lit a match
The wood smoke smell from the campfire patch

Making me think it was more of God's plan
That led me here to this homeless man
And together we ate with some plastic spoons
Chatting back and forth till way past noon

When my watch chime signaled it was time to go
To walk back to the spillway where the water flowed
Where Sam was my brother for one crazy day
Though I doubt there's a chance I'll ever see him again

Written by Sara Fielder © 2012

Dedicated to Smack Thompson

poem by Sara Fielder
Added by Poetry Lover
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