Copper Wire

[Verse 1]
One half-smoked pack of Virginia Slims
beside the key for a door in East Nashville.
A dried-out okra pod, brittle at the stem,
and two ticket stubs for a show at the Ryman, still.

[Chorus]
This drawer's got everything but you.
A whole lotta nothing to see me through.

[Verse 2]
A single apostle spoon, Saint Peter, I think.
The little clay bird with a chip on its beak.
“Keep this safe,” you said, “'til the ground thaws out.”
That was the last good rain of the week.

[Chorus]
This drawer's got everything but you.
A whole lotta nothing to see me through.

[Bridge]
They say you can't graft a rose on a thistle.
Can't pray for a crop in soil this brittle.

[Outro]
This spool of copper wire I keep unwindin’,
for a connection I’m no longer findin’.