Solitary Rider's blog: "My songs and poems"

“An American Life” (c) by Andyboy Georgia

muscle cars and cornfields surrounded his old high school
and days breezed by with the warmth from his old flame
he had no gold on his tassel, but he stayed the course through high school,
and momma cried when he walked across the stage
he was married soon after with a baby on the way

he had just passed go, in an American life
he had just passed go, with an American wife
and the dreams that they shared, were common as the air
and the town where they grew, was the only one they knew
skippin’ stones beneath the moonlight, in an American life

now paychecks don’t come easy, in a town where all the factories
sit vacant, bombed from the rust belt’s glory days
and the jobs that do sustain them, do nothing to remind them
of the proud, stout past their fathers’ labor made
and the schools they are closin’ as more families drift away

watched his hometown die, in an American life
seen his old man cry, in an American life
and the hope for a living wage, well that’s sellin’ cheap these days
but a politician’s smile, can’t feed a hungry child
stockin’ shelves down at the walmart, in an American life

after 9/11, when his first born was seven
the guard called up and shipped him on a plane.
and the hell that he arrived in, was nowhere in his writin’,
in the heartfelt notes he wired home from base.
now he’s  tryin’ to ditch his wheelchair for a walker down at the VA

been a long time gone, from his American life
gotta wait so long, for that new start in life
and the dues that he gave, well they’ll never be repaid
just another decent man, used and tossed into the can
and he dreams of cars and cornfields, from his American life
He had just passed go, in an American life