She Came From Beneath the Swamp

No moon on the bayou, no wind in the reeds Just the sound of the cypress and the pull of the weeds The boys on the levee said they saw something rise With Spanish moss hair and those ancient green eyes She walked through the cattails like she owned every inch Didn't blink, didn't hurry, didn't stumble or flinch Left wet footprints on the blacktop all the way to town And every dog in the parish just lay itself down I should've locked the door I should've killed the light But she knocked real gentle on a Thursday night She came from beneath the swamp Dripping and ancient and impossible to stop She came from beneath the swamp Older than the river, older than the rock Mud in her fingers, pearls in her hair She came from beneath - and I didn't care She sat at my table, she drank my last beer Left a ring of black water - I still keep it here She didn't say much, just looked at the flame Then she wrote in the condensation - her name I couldn't read it Couldn't speak it out loud But it hummed in my chest like a storm in a cloud She stood up at midnight touched my face with her hand Cold as the delta - warm as the land She came from beneath the swamp Dripping and ancient and impossible to stop She came from beneath the swamp Older than the river, older than the rock Mud in her fingers, pearls in her hair She came from beneath - and I didn't care The neighbors say I changed say I smell like the rain say I stare at the water and don't come in again They ask where she went I just smile at the door There's mud on my boots and I don't sleep anymore SHE CAME FROM BENEATH THE SWAMP DRIPPING AND ANCIENT AND IMPOSSIBLE TO STOP SHE CAME FROM BENEATH THE SWAMP OLDER THAN THE RIVER, OLDER THAN THE ROCK MUD IN HER FINGERS, PEARLS IN HER HAIR SHE CAME FROM BENEATH - AND I DIDN'T CARE "...she wrote her name."