five coats

Standing all by himself under the viaduct
Got five coats on plus one for good luck
Got the earflaps down on his hat pulled low
When you look at the guy you think it's forty below
But he's sweating in the August sun
And the salt off his brow makes his mascara run
He's got it all buttoned down
But his mind's undone

Now he's kicked himself loose from the earth and sea
Flat on his back in the middle of the street
People and cars pass by his six stop bed
Not as hard to direct as the traffic in his head
No you can't tell him what to do
Because he's perfectly free inside his point of view
He's pointing six ways at once and
Nowhere too

What you see is what you forget
Like it hasn't happened yet
On a screen
Cinema verite'
Look away
You can stare and look away

Three years later to the day
He's in the exact same place
With the exact same insane look on his face
How would I know?
It's 'cause I'm standing there too
With a fresh coat of polish on my brand new shoes
Lucky to be me and you
Because we fill in the cracks
As they come into view
Pointing six ways at once
Nowhere too