Sister Cities

See the old man on the bridge
He's hauling up a sagging net
It's full of eels
Twisting through the eye sockets of a horse's head
And this fiend has no family
So he will outlive you and me

In the hospital, you talked about
Thumbing down that truck ride for the first time
And the false friend kept his back turned
That's when you learned the fierceness of man
Again, again, again
How long it took to reach the sister cities
And then somehow make it back
Just to tell me, "Yeah, I guess I'm still pretty mad"

Every other day, the same
Long road to the old man down the street
Neither one of you knows
What the flowers in your hand are supposed to mean
Red flowers against your, red flowers against your
Painted shut window

Help! My uncle's gone insane!
In his room he sits, shaking a geranium
Outside, the old dog, resigned,
Leaves heavy tracks for the father dragging the rifle to find

Every other day, the same
Long road to the old man down the street
Do you think someday, through all the flowers,
Your eyes finally will meet?
Where he'll tell you,
"Honey, you know I had to shoot that dog you loved so much
You know I had to do it"
"Aw, honey, you know I had to shoot that dog you loved so much
You know I had to do it"
"Oh yeah, I know you had to shoot that dog I loved so much
I know you had to do it"