"swallowing diamonds"

"swallowing diamonds"
written after a birthday by jake kilroy.

swallowing diamonds in the dive bar of heaven,
we crack jokes like gods crack the sky,
and we cough up gold dust in a hokey laugh,
praying in the wrong church to all the right women,
trampling over each other to pay homage to the blonde.

pals and gals, this time out on the town,
hoping for a first-rate second chance,
waiting out eternities in candy stores
and pizza shops and beer patios.

that's all we want,
and maybe a few pints of grace,
to toast our broken bones and sore muscles,
all from the beatings we took as romantics,
sworn brothers with hearts that conquer
greater lands than history could ever imagine.
so we sang songs in the beat chords of youth,
wasting another night in the small city,
waiting for the world to open up to us
like a woman in bed with the moonlight thin
through the blinds, with a rough purr,
as we hope to hear every girl we adore
read our palms and tell our sorry souls
that we'll find a better home this year.