Checkpoint Seven

At checkpoint seven,

frost is on the wire Your

photograph sleeps beside the spare magazine

The kettle clicks,

the radio spits fire And dawn

arrives too pale for what we've

seen My dear,

keep the lamp beside the window

Keep one chair

turned toward the road I

come back carrying winter

Or leave my name

beneath the load

The mountain road was chalk beneath

the tire

Scarf pulled tight against the dust

and sun

We traded jokes beside the burned-out

fires Then counted every truck that

made it home My dear,

keep the lamp beside the window

Keep one chair

turned toward the road

I come back carrying winter

Or leave my name

beneath the load

Somewhere a boy is learning your

old song With three wrong chords

and courage in his hands

If I am late,

tell him he was not wrong

The heart keeps time beyond the

marching bands

The valley keeps the boot prints

after snow The names grow quiet

underneath the stone

I hear your voice in engines

running low And turn to find

the barracks standing lone My dear,

keep the lamp beside the window

Keep one chair turned toward the

road

I came back carrying winter

But left half my heart beneath

the load

At checkpoint seven, morning finds the wire

Your photograph is warm beneath my sleep