Daytime of Life

I wake in the dawn of the cold misty dew light
Kickin' and drinkin' warm milk while I'm cryin'
In the sterilized smell of my unsure surroundings
Feelin' warm hands as I'm passed back and forth
And I'm wigglin' and crawlin' and reaching out slowly
Strange sounds at my elbow but no way to make them
The shapes of big colors and lights all around me
Comin' to grips with the cold hard linoleum
Pushin' and pullin' as I travel in circles
Unsure on my knees as I crawl towards the table
Unsteady on legs as I'm findin' my balance
My legs stretchin' out and a wish to go walkin'
Out in the road in the gravel and sunshine
Out on the earth with my feet in the short grass
The shadows of barn and garage learnin' quickly
A switch to my bottom and on the bed cryin'
In the dawn of the mornin' the vague early mornin'
At the start of the daytime of life
Standin' out here by an old pile of lumber
A long shiny track that's still silently ringin'
And the last southbound freight that was two o'clock passin'
And I in my Levi's my cigarettes twisted
In the arm of a t-shirt I'm smart like a rooster
You stand here in front of me heavily breathin'
Your long brown hair matted with sweat as we're silent
The beads like last Christmas that lay on your bosom
I feel the exploding of some innerself
That's more lasting and longing than the carcass surrounding
The bursting of love that is pleading now for you
That creeps in our eyes and it colors our thinkin'
And tingles our hands and our arms and our foreheads
As the flesh is now talkin' in words that are quiet
In the hot afternoon as we're makin' our plans
As we walk through the daytime of life
A baby comes cryin' and laughin' and kickin'
And drinkin' warm milk as it's handled so gently
And afternoon comes to see three other babies
Playin' and runnin' their bodies fast growin'
Sundown comes sneakin' around by the back door
My joints gettin' stiffer and movin' more slowly
My hair gettin' thinner and turnin' to driftwood
Then goin' downhill in the still of the evenin'
So peaceful and gentle I'm not in a hurry
Just passin' the grave of a friend I once played with
The pine needles soft underfoot as I'm walkin'
And children come runnin' to guide their grandfather
And if you don't mind I'll just sit in the shadows
And rest and go slowly I'm gettin' so tired
My head on a pillow a doctor now holdin' my wrist
As he's feelin' the veins barely throbbin'
My grandchildren standin' around by my bedside
And now through the mist I can faint see them cryin'
But I will be comfortable here on the cushions of silk all around me
I think I must sleep in the cool deep
And it's midnight