Kristina Stykos: Music

Like a Thief

(Kristina Stykos)

Dedicated to Johnny Cunningham.

I do remember you
You were a handsome sight
A weathered fiddle tucked beneath your chin
Working the streets at night

You made them laugh, you liked your whiskey
You saw many, many dawns like this
Sunlight stretching the Atlantic
To touch you with its kiss

And the rain comes down, like a thief
And runs into the ground
Orion was high in the winter sky
Now he’s buried with his crown

A shabby daytime soldier you were
A constellation in the dark
Your tunes flew out over the empty stage
Like shiny pennies from a jar

Like a child expecting love
You could always make one shed a tear
You’d catch the hardest heart like a thistle down
Then spread your wings and disappear

I cannot say I ever knew you well
Or that you saw me when you looked my way
Once you said: “Sing us a song!”
And I turned away

Your old coat still hung by the fire
Your empty glass, so bright and clear
I cannot say I ever knew your love
But you were welcome here

And the rain comes down, like a thief
And runs into the ground
Orion was high in the winter sky
Now he’s buried with his crown

The night is over, the light is rising
The stars are lazy in the sky
The wild music and the dancings done
Its time to stoke the dying fire

September’s wood was green
Now in the cold March wind it burns
My voice has come back to me
But I know you won’t return