The Center of the World

I couldn't sleep,

so I walked along the centerlines of the streets

got a coffee and a donut

'cause time passes faster when i eat

tried to sort through all my thoughts

and keep my hands away from frostbite

I guess the quiet gets to me once in awhile

on those black november nights.

Well I walked through Wal-Mart in a daze

on a crowded Sunday afternoon

and suddenly I felt the weight

of what I was walking through

and for one frozen moment

I knew that nothing there could cure this quiet ache

that 'all you can eat' can't fill,

the emptiness the shelves can't restrain.

I headed home to sleep

and locked the doors on things i didn't understand

still, sometimes I see the glimmers

of a world that stretches out from where i stand

but it's cold beyond my borders,

so i pack my thoughts in boxes unread

I don't watch the stars much these days,

I just stare straight ahead.

I am the center of the world