Daytime of Life

I wake in the dawn of the cold misty dew light
Kickin and drinkin warm milk while Im cryin
In the sterilized smell of my unsure surroundings
Feelin warm hands as Im passed back and forth
And Im wigglin and crawlin and reaching out slowly
Strange sounds at my elbow but no way to make them
The shapes of big colors and lights all around me
Comin to grips with the cold hard linoleum
Pushin and pullin as I travel in circles
Unsure on my knees as I crawl towards the table
Unsteady on legs as Im findin my balance
My legs stretchin out and a wish to go walkin
Out in the road in the gravel and sunshine
Out on the earth with my feet in the short grass
The shadows of barn and garage learnin quickly
A switch to my bottom and on the bed cryin
In the dawn of the mornin the vague early mornin
At the start of the daytime of life
Standin out here by an old pile of lumber
A long shiny track thats still silently ringin
And the last southbound freight that was two oclock passin
And I in my Levis my cigarettes twisted
In the arm of a t-shirt Im smart like a rooster
You stand here in front of me heavily breathin
Your long brown hair matted with sweat as were silent
The beads like last Christmas that lay on your bosom
I feel the exploding of some innerself
Thats more lasting and longing than the carcass surrounding
The bursting of love that is pleading now for you
That creeps in our eyes and it colors our thinkin
And tingles our hands and our arms and our foreheads
As the flesh is now talkin in words that are quiet
In the hot afternoon as were makin our plans
As we walk through the daytime of life
A baby comes cryin and laughin and kickin
And drinkin warm milk as its handled so gently
And afternoon comes to see three other babies
Playin and runnin their bodies fast growin
Sundown comes sneakin around by the back door
My joints gettin stiffer and movin more slowly
My hair gettin thinner and turnin to driftwood
Then goin downhill in the still of the evenin
So peaceful and gentle Im not in a hurry
Just passin the grave of a friend I once played with
The pine needles soft underfoot as Im walkin
And children come runnin to guide their grandfather
And if you dont mind Ill just sit in the shadows
And rest and go slowly Im gettin so tired
My head on a pillow a doctor now holdin my wrist
As hes feelin the veins barely throbbin
My grandchildren standin around by my bedside
And now through the mist I can faint see them cryin
But I will be comfortable here on the cushions of silk all around me
I think I must sleep in the cool deep
And its midnight