The Day All The Leaves Came Down

She was a cold case
Of Celtic descent
And Celtic dissent was in her blood
She saw the human race
Like so many islands
Laid out for a flood

She was a cold day
With a stern resolution
To leave nothing that could be left unsaid, said
“Come on,” she’d say
“It’s a weak constitution
That lets the dead past bury its dead.”

It took all day to walk across town
The day all the leaves came down
Up to my knees in orange and brown
The day all the leaves came down

At the Mt. Zion Old School Baptist Church
We kissed in front of Jesus & some dead rebels
In a motel run by a cowboy Elvis
Fetid, foul & feckless, a half-man of letters

He said, “I am not a tree that will constantly bloom in spring”
She said, “That’s your excuse for everything
Saying love the sinner, hate the skin
You can be kindred without being kin.”

It took all day to walk across town
The day all the leaves came down
Up to my knees in orange and brown
The day all the leaves came down

Which is the right life? The quiet life or the night life?
Which is the brightest?
The morning or the night light?
Which held you the tightest?
Your first love or your third wife?
From the chill dawn to the humid night

It took all day to walk across town
The day all the leaves came down
Up to my knees in orange and brown
The day all the leaves came down