James

by Nick Jaina

James wrote in the bible
there is prophet in your trials
it's worth waiting
for a man you've never met
but when I sat in the pew next to your crossed legs
I thought of regrets
I thought of fires
burning churches
burning me

if that's funny or shallow, well why?
why are men still falling for the same tricks?
when every wager made on Earth is fixed

when the band plays
and they give praise
there's a blank space
where my heart lays
they have the notes right
but they are hollow
and they are sour

and the clocks hands
they are handcuffed
they don't ever move fast enough
they are frozen on the face of every hour

if that's money or time spent
it's not wasted
seven months or fourteen hundred dollars
no one here has clean and untouched collars

so tie on
your white cotton dress
melodies will have to do I guess
with whiskey neat, the players in the street
wait for James
just like me

© 2010 Nick Jaina

Live Performances

Nick Jaina with Dorota Szuta (Chicago 2013)