Billy Miller

Empty walls and nothing's moving
Useless time lies in the corners
Not a sound to start a thought
Strips of sunlight slowly leaking down the door
And the window holds no sight
Except a sky that has no room

Billy's lying on the bed
And the clothes he wears feel strange
But he's lately getting used
And just for habit he flips through the magazine
He's read it many times
So he knows it word by word

The blurred photo shows a child's uneven smile
Another young girl like your next-door neighbor's child
And she got raped as darkness settled on the park
The man had soon be found
And he was sentenced to eleven months of jail
He'd always been a decent man

A young man in bitterness
A senseless fist and legs that cannot walk
Lonely in the silent crowd - cussing at his woman's open grave
The driver of the other car
Thoughtful father to a happy family
Had caused the fatal accident
Running a red light when driving drunk
He can afford to pay the bail
A sheriff in New Mexico shot a J.D. on the run
Three shots were to be heard
But no one knows which was the deadly one
In the end the matter was delayed

And again he has to read the short notice in the back
"Billy Miller tried in court for possessing drugs
And habitual drug abuse
Sentenced to five years in the county jail"

And Billy leans back on the wall
And recites the words he's read
Like a prayer's worn-out terms
That need to explanation to those who know
No, you don't need to it plain to those who know