an idle man

what a lazed and idle man i am today
chasing coffees, done sweet with liquor
kissing that soft breeze wound loose
sitting by and giving ogles to the strangers
shuffling down this country lane

if you bring a melon, red and tasty
full of summer and late day rain
i can tell your rightful future
whether sorrow or father's joy
i can see the long procession
dressed in black and singing grace
winding past the old white steeple
giving peal and melancholy
binding tight your final day

if you bring some farmer's whiskey
kegged where neighbor's never spy
i will twirl the airs and bring you visions
shape the clouds that weigh on high
we can sit and rouse some chatters
roll your dice and shuffle cards
til you see your loves and fortunes
all your days and all their hours
will pass like shimmers in the glass

i have a chair gone soft and shaky
from telling tales and sipping gin
sitting neath these green magnolias
smelling up sweet granny's jasmine
and running through the silky air

i am a man gone lazed and idle
selling stories and taking coins
taking gifts from far off places
here where the end is ever near

so take a seat down on the mosses
close your eyes and listen strong
i know some rare and strangesome stories
we'll savor breath, be glad of living
you are a prize come free unbidden
here where the end is ever near