He didn’t see it coming
didn’t know it was drumming
at his door
He didn’t know at all
kissed his kids like he did
every night before

When he got up to his room
the cold and the shadows
started to move
he slipped up through the ceiling
he’d already forgotten
that he’d left too soon

So tonight
I don’t want to drink no more
I just want to stare
out at the evening surf
how would I
float up through the sky
and spend
my last night on the Earth

I was there when he took the call
he just said “thank you” and
hung up the phone
then he sat with a silent bourbon
when he was drunk
he went to bed alone

In the darkness I could hear him crying
in the morning
he didn’t say a word
I never forced the question
Never told him
what I had heard

So tonight
I don’t want to talk no more
I just want to stand
out in the evening surf
Now can I
celebrate a life
and Howard’s last night
on the Earth

And if my father had his way
he’d set Howard adrift out on the bay
and arrows from the shore
would set his Viking boat ablaze

But he fastened on the lid
because I was just a little kid
with the moon
and the rocks
and the sea

So tonight
I don’t want to sing no more
I just want to drift
into the ocean surf
How can I
celebrate my life
and dance like
it’s my last night on the Earth

And tonight
try to love each other more
kiss or hug or hold
whatever you fancy
and then he
won’t have died in vain
on the last night
of Howard Delancy