STAY AWAKE

Sweet sixteen

Freedom of the open road

Now in front of me

Life is a highway 

And I was finally livin’ mine

You see

My first car wasn’t a car exactly

It was the old family minivan

But man, that didn’t stop me

From hitting top-speed

At a shaky one-hundred-and-three

Windows down scream

FREEEEEeeedoomm...

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.

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I loved driving those township roads

But I remember the day

I drove my first

Real four-lane highway

And I was petrified

Of the cars surrounding me 

On all sides

And it took everything to keep 

My eyes in front of me

“Keep your eyes forward 

Keep them on the road

Keep them out in front”

I was always told

But I’d look left and happen to swerve right

I’d look right and everything got tight

Suddenly

The lane I was in 

Was far too small

And my “highway life”

Felt a whole lot less free

And lot more fettered

To the lines 

Which I was now between

So my eyes would dash 

To and then fro

At anything I could see 

Not on this crazy road

But all I saw was the flash

Of the trees that did grow

In their stagnant places

And so I grew

All the more anxious 

Because I knew 

There were no exits

Life is a highway 

And this is my only one 

Now I’ve never been suicidal 

But have you ever found yourself

Wondering what would happen

If you stopped steering

Let go of the wheel and tires

Just to see 

What could transpire...

Or maybe even 

If I stayed in total control

And just veered this wheel 

Toward the edge of the road

Just to see

How far I could go

But life is a highway 

And I knew this was my only one

“Keep your eyes forward 

Keep them on the road

Keep them out in front”

I was always told

So I set them right there

A few feet in front of me

I learned not to blink

Cuz’ I knew there could be

Potholes 

And Road-apples

And things that could ding

This fallible frame of mine

Because we all know

**it happens

So I kept my eyes wide

And my hands gripped tight

Aways ready to swerve

Or jerk from side-to-side

Always ready

Always aware

Never steady

What a terror

“Why is this highway life 

SO EXHAUSTING?”

Now

I know you’ll find this juvenile

But eventually

My eyes would grow tired

And I found it easy

When on a straight stretch mile

To rest my heavy eyes 

Just for a while

But I should have known

I can sleep for miles

So when I reached

The curve in the road

I was in too deep 

So I didn’t feel the rumble strips

Or hear the warning beeps

That I was about to hit

The end of my only road

Life is a highway and I fell asleep to mine

Please

Please

Stay awake to yours