Born at 5:00

Born at five, bright blue eyes
Mother beamed, father cried
His first words came from a song mom sang
Big sis wished it'd had been her first name
And he took his first steps, learned to live upright
He sat through school, but he ran through the night
And at thirteen kissed a girl, but she didn't kiss back
Name misspelled on the diploma
Pay check, road trip, Arizona
His first love wore her hair full of curls
They called it quits, but he found another girl
And everyone stared as she walked down the isle
Kids got daddy's eyes and they stole mamma's smile
And for a while there everything was goddamn peachy clean
Until he cheated death at 35
Asleep at the wheel swerved just in time
His heart grew cold, and he lost touch
The job was boring and the marriage was rough
Then he saw a drop of blood roll down his son's face
He was standing in a robe, he was teaching him to shave
And he snapped out of it til he learned how to love again
But a stroke got dad, and they burried mom
Once the cancer grew too strong
A lullaby from sister's lungs
First tear in dad's eye since the birth of his son
So he took a year off to get back on his feet
He didn't do much, took a trip to the beach
Where he slept on the sand
Had a dream that the girl kissed back
Now at home, daily grind
Birthdays, holidays, peace of mind
He lost his hair, found his laugh
Composed a will and his epitaph
There was nothing too special about the way he lived life
Was about build and about average height
Sometimes he did things wrong the other times did things right
Porch out front and a yard out back
The quiet life and the cul de sac
Kids in school, gowns and ties
More little babies with bright blue eye
So he cashed in his chips and he moved to the hills
But he didn't eat right and he didn't take his pills
And a five o'clock one day the soft blue eyes grew still