The Sheriff's Wife

He left his heart unsaid. And silence was a rope, my love. You gave me walls and winter wood, A house with shuttered views, But not the warmth that I followed west, Not what I thought I’d choose. I missed my ma, I missed my kin, The church bells and the spring... I told you... nights I felt alone, You said, “It’ll get better, silly thing.” I asked you, “When?” You kissed your pipe, You stared out toward the plain. I asked you twice, then twenty times... You answered 'I have work' again. A woman can grow starved to death With bread in every room... When no one says the simple things That let a heart stay bloomed. Three little words could’ve kept me here. A heart can’t live on what’s assumed. He could have tried he could have learned what to do. Now wind blows through the things unsaid, Cold as a courthouse floor... Three little words were all it took, And now they’ll come no more. He came in smelling of horse and rain, That outlaw with a crooked grin, A saddle rogue with reckless eyes And trouble tucked in his skin. He listened when I spoke of home, He laughed when I felt small, And loneliness will dress a snake Like something good and tall. He kissed me once behind the store, I knew it was wrong but stayed... Sometimes a starving soul mistakes Attention for being saved. He could’ve drawn. I could’ve shot. He let us take the night. Because he loved his pride... And he just couldn’t say it right Three little words might’ve changed the road. He should’ve said them then. Instead I rode with borrowed lies... And lost us to that man. Some doors don’t close till miles away, Some truths arrive too late... Three little words can weigh less than air, And still outweigh your fate. We rode through cold and cedar breaks, Through mud and mesquite thorn... I knew by dawn we’d made a trade That grief itself would mourn. The rancher found us at the cottonwood... The man whose horses we had stole... And hanging there in the morning wind Were two bodies and no souls. I swung beside the fool I chose, With dust upon my shoes. I thought escape was freedom’s face, I only changed my noose. But hear me plain, my law man, Though death has made me cold... I’d never left that little house If love had once been told. Three little words could’ve kept me near. You loved me mute. And love untold still pains. So if you’ve got a heart to give, Don’t lock it up indoors... Three little words can save a life... Say them Before theres No more.