to an ex-friend

I nearly died once in Oxford, Mississippi,
And nearly died in Houston.
The water’s gunmetal tonight in Kentucky
Under the pittance of a moon.

If you’ve been dead long enough
Who died here, maybe you could tell me
Whether the water down there’s strong enough
To get as drunk on as we used to like to be.

—Not that talk’s forgiveness, never that.
There’s been too many changes, too little change.
But you know how lonely it can get
Here by Johnathan Creek Bridge.

For what it’s worth, I lost the woman
I fought you for trying to take. I hear
No sound of a voice, nobody swimming,
But that’s all right. I understand. Stay there.