28. a drop of golden sun (cont.)

i've written some more of this song, after almost a month. it's a friggin' epic, especially considering that i try not to write long songs. but it is entertaining to write.

a drop of golden sun
it was clear from the beginning that king cobra ruled the land
they saw him first on horseback in the breeze
and as he swaggered over with his portrait in his hand
he commanded the attention of the trees

jed kelly was a black sheep, or a dark horse, if you will
and he played guitar so gentle and so deep
that you had to strain your ears to extract a single note
but that note could haunt the spectres of your sleep

king cobra was a gamblin' man with aces up his sleeve
he said to jed, 'let's start a game right here'
but the troops had no desire to leave the lamb upon the fire
for the sober realm of poker chips and beer

and then in walked susanna as pale as they were dark
ash coated from the sacrificial sheep
she said, 'i got no money and i cannot cut a deck
but i'd kind of like to play myself to sleep'

susie dreamt of home and of her darling waiting there
with lines that played about his mouth and grey stripes in his hair
and for her lonesome badger she'd eschewed a dozen lovers
all people dream alone, they'd think, but some moreso than others

they set up on the patio. king cobra poured the beer
and divided up the chips between the three
jed kelly sat to susie's left, king cobra to her right
his outstretched ankle resting by her knee

he curled a fist of smoking herb and pressed it to her mouth
she glanced at him and pulled it through her chest
jed flicked a look at cobra but the king was loathe to tell
if susie had just passed or failed his test

the game at last got started, though it wasn't long to be
jed kelly dealt the flop, the turn, the river
a breeze came in at three a.m. the players kept their cool
though each repressed a secret silent shiver

the cobra's hand was fierce; he was confident of glory
jed knew it and he dropped his pairing down
susanna, she just smiled and said, 'i´ll hang in for a while'
then she raised the stakes and swiped the cobra´s crown

the king spat out in anger, but he took lucinda's hand
then took a cigarette against the wall
king cobra, it was certain, was the ruler of the land
but the sun king was the ruler of them all

now having struck the cobra once, susanna seemed to pale
jed kelly sniffed the bluffer's casual fear
it hardly took a minute to destroy her tidy pile
¨good game,¨ said she, and poured herself beer

'i can't believe you leave me in the morning,' said the king
'both of you. but susie, mainly you.'
jed rolled his eyes 'well, thanks a lot,' he told his friend and rival
'and i'm sure that i'll be thinking of you too'

'why don't you leave as well?' asked susie, puzzled by his speech
'my grandad died last friday night,' said he.
'now i hold a sitting shiva, and i cannot leave this place.'
he dealt another game out for the three.