I Was Once a Sunflower

Country as Hell

His cigarette smoke swirls out of
the open car window
as he sings off-key to Jason Aldean.
he is going 60 in a 35,
smiling at me the whole ride,
holding his hand over mine.
I've heard all the tales about his life,
how he has partied every night,
waking up so drunk he can't
even tell you how to climb the stairs.
he dips and he has 2 cans
of chew to help him through and
hates every dollar he spends on them.
driving fifty miles from out of town
and he's going on telling me how
this whole place is home.
we drive by the farm,
and he shows me where he broke his arm,
scars and bruises for days and days.
he rides quads, dirt bikes, and side by sides
laughing saying I've never lived life
If I haven't gone to the top of the world.
he drives off road into a bank of coal
we climbed up in the freezing cold,
feet slipping on the gravel in the dark.
when we reached the hilltop,
the city below was lit up,
I saw the lights for miles away.
a scene set against the mountaintop
a view thatd make the strongest lungs stop.
drives me home on the backroads,
where all the dirt blows
behind us in a cloud
as we race in the wind.
his friends all have fast cars
all boosted, lifted, and turbo charged
hanging out in the parking lots
doing stupid shit again.
someone plays music in their truck,
and bottles are being tipped up,
as the Supra does a burnout,
a cop car pulls in.
he says "Now look I clock out at ten,
I won't be back here again,
try to remember
to pick up your cans".
he takes me to the park,
where I'm staring at the stars
and he's wrapping his arm
around me to pull me in.
tells me about the cows he owns,
wearing a flannel and country clothes,
and we're sitting real close,
I don't want to go home.
he's got hay in his back seat,
I've never smelled something so sweet,
that's when I smiled because he
is unapologetically
country as hell.