Jordantown – Maggie Wing

You drove the long way down
Ft. Wayne to Jordantown
You brought a change in the weather
And no one expected the heat with the snow on the ground

In the November light
You watched the dreams ignite
In all us blue-eyed young ladies
Bent on escaping our mothers’ oversight

You wore this town like a ten-gallon hat
We made you feel like a bigger man
You made a bet that we’d cover your back
But that’s a hard way, that’s a hard way to win

You sang your highway songs
All the girls sang along
Then one by one you took us
And quietly shook us and showed us where mother was wrong

You thought you’d use us until you outgrew us
And then you’d shed us like skin
You were cottonmouth-smooth, but we could’ve told you
That’s a hard way, that’s a hard way to win

Your biggest mistake
Was thinking the ladies of Jordantown could be shamed
You messed with our dresses but never once called us by name
It’s not for us to forgive your trespasses
We burned your Airstream to ashes

Now you’ve been gone a year
We’re dispensing acyclovir
And we’ve got five brown-eyed babies whose mamas say, “Maybe
We’ve found a recessive gene here…”

Burning your bridges all over the map
It’s easy to tell where you’ve been
But all of the stars in your dark zodiac
Say that’s a hard way, that’s a hard way to win
That’s a hard way, a hard way to win