Last Day of the Last Furlough

In the late afternoon
A sky and a calm sea join
They fade into the dirty silver
Of an old coin
It's so still it could be morning
Before the heat held in the sand
We have the beach to ourselves now
The brown eyed girl, the empty man
And she wants to make love
I want to drink
Drinking is what I do best
She rolls onto her side
And reaches across the blanket
For my cigarettes
She asks me if I called my wife
I tell her "no, not yet" and she says
"You can't stall forever
You've got to make that call sometime"
But I just don't want to hear
A stranger's voice, on that end of the line
And she wants to make love
I want to drink
Drinking is what I do best
Back at the motel
She takes a shower
I watch the last rounds of a fight
I pick up a phone
And call a restaurant
Dinner for two, some place new tonight
I try to picture my wife with her new love
But I just can't get it right
And I just want to do something
I do well tonight
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