orphan of the road

from a carny show and a rodeo that shared a three-day stand

a cowboy met a fiery carny queen

in new spring nights amid the lights of the painted carny van. they laughed and loved and shared short-lived dreams

but the carny show and the rodeo went their separate ways

and the carny season bloomed and soon moved on

and i was born on a winter morn to the dark-eyed carny queen

the too-late son of something that was gone

the black-sheep child that grew up wild from the seed the four winds sowed

unwanted son of ice and fire

an orphan of the road. i was still a child when my mama died of a chill that closed her eyes

so i was left to grow up on my own

without a name

too wild to tame. no one cared to try. so mostly i was mostly left alone. in dingy bars and cold boxcars

hobo jungle camps

i joined the men who drift from town to town. the surgin' flood of restless blood flowed inside my veins. i'd never find the time to settle down. the black-sheep child. in the misty rain

i caught the train that slowed down through the town

and i pulled myself into the boxcar door. in a passing light in the deep gray night

i saw the still dark form

of an old man lying sick upon the floor. and he said i tried to find her