Face Pain Blues

I'm in the midst of pain,
I can barely speak,
The dreams I had of summer
Are completely out of reach.
There's a devil who keeps telling me
I'll never get that far,
And the worst of hells in all the world
Are where you are.

I'm not the man you married, babe,
I'm not the man I was,
My mojo up and left me
Beside the road because
You cannot push the river,
You cannot fly a boat,
You cannot seek forgiveness
From the sickness of a note.

People give me counsel,
Even strangers on the street,
Look at me and offer up
Advice I cannot meet.
My brain is full of misery,
My tongue is tied with pain,
Nothing can relieve me of
These thoughts that come again.

Surge, resurge, and counter-strike
Of waves that undermine
The beach we raised our children on
And played another time.
The old times are forgotten now
But feelings never die,
They watch me from the ceiling-rose
And mock me as I lie.