Across From Jack's Poem by jim hogg

We met outside the Alamo
That quiet pub across from Jack's
You'd told me I should take it slow
And so I rushed to make a start

So keen, so bold, so fervently
To cover up the fear I felt
I dived right in so recklessly
And lost all sight of what love meant

While you were tender, you were kind
And you were all I knew you were
Though you were just as scared inside
As out into the street we stepped


The moon fell down behind us when
We strolled down past that shapely hall
and spoke of here and now, and then,
and on where only shadows fall

And you were there when we both held
Some kind of future in our arms
Until the very word rebelled
Somewhere between our fragile hearts

And so we shared I don't know what
Along that pier where seagulls cried
Amongst the echoes of our hurt
It felt like destiny denied


But someday soon I'll walk again
Down by the boats without your hand
I'll stand alone and catch my breath
And try once more to understand

The gentle swells that gently rose
Then reared into a sudden storm
And raised these waves that pound this shore
That I still find myself upon

For I don't want to miss you less
For reasons I just can't define
And bitter-sweetly I confess
I must still sip this bitter wine


For all my blunders cling to me
My thoughtless words, my vanity;
And every choice we miss or make
Will shape the road we're bound to take

Where all our fondest wishes are
Too real it seems, and yet so far
From anything this life will yield
As if our fate's already sealed

So here we are beneath the night
A patchwork quilt of dark and light
A little flame, a little ice
A ticking clock, a loaded dice


(Chorus)
And life will lead us where it goes
The world still turns, the river flows
And after winter comes the spring
With love to make and songs to sing