Black River Fence

Cold coffee in a cracked tin cup

Wind sneaks through the canvas seam

Boot tracks fading in the black mud ruts

Last good day feels like a dream

This black river fence keeps cutting my hands

Rust in the wire, blood in the sand

I gave you my word, you gave me your back

Now it’s miles of nothing and a sky gone black

Hurting like a bullet that never comes out

On this frontier of doubt

Dead calf by the cottonwood stump

Coyotes singing where the church bell rang

Your note folded in my tobacco pouch

Just three lines and my own name sang

This black river fence keeps cutting my hands

Rust in the wire, blood in the sand

I gave you my word, you gave me your back

Now it’s miles of nothing and a sky gone black

Hurting like a bullet that never comes out

On this frontier of doubt

Ask the dirt why it won’t grow

Ask the Lord why he went home

Only answer is the empty gate

And a sky that never breaks

This black river fence keeps cutting my hands

Rust in the wire, blood in the sand

I gave you my heart, you gave me your track

Boot prints fading where you won’t walk back

Hurting like a bullet that never comes out

On this frontier of doubt