Track Insight / Lyrics
I count the gallons passing through my throat
Yellow light paints oil stains on concrete coat
His engine idles, coughing in the cold
A hymn hums soft behind the steering wheel
Cracked vinyl holds the shape of thirty years
Coffee thermos sweating in the cup holder
Radio catches static between stations
He checks the mirror, adjusts his rearview angel
Crossroads pump keeps vigil through the night
Watching taillights swallow up the distance
Crossroads pump holds steady through the night
Measuring the miles in halogen witness
Receipt paper curls in humid air
Tire treads murmur prayers on worn asphalt
He fingers rosary beads on gearshift knob
Breath fogs the glass where fingers traced her name
Crossroads pump keeps vigil through the night
Watching taillights swallow up the distance
Crossroads pump holds steady through the night
Measuring the miles in halogen witness
Organ drones from Sunday service memory
Leslie speaker spinning in his chest
Bass line walks the aisle between the pews
Falsetto cracks above the steering column
Coins stack tall in plastic console tray
Quarters, dimes, a nickel for the toll road
Map folded wrong since ninety-eight
Edges softened by a thousand thumbs
Dawn bleeds pale through station canopy
Wipers clear the condensation map
He shifts to drive, releases parking brake
My nozzle rests, still warm from his leaving
Crossroads pump keeps vigil through the night
Watching taillights swallow up the distance
Crossroads pump holds steady through the night
Measuring the miles in halogen witness
Neon sputters, day shift takes the watch
