There’s a highway that runs North to South out here
East Coast North to South, I85.
Today, my company Purchased second hand cubicles and it was on me to
-rent a U-Haul
-travel to the town that is dead to me
-break down said cubicles
-load,return to home office.
This town and I have a sorted history.
Victories, hard defeats, places I drive by and keep my head down..
I put in a lot of effort, avoiding this town and the people I knew.
(A place that beat you lol)
A place that beat many.
A social black hole.
We traveled down 85, and I saw,,
A man walking alongside the highway,
Vagabond.
Carrying bags,
(That’s him…)
I locked on to my rear view mirror.
Big bushy beard,
Something about his walk.
All the things he was carrying.
(Jeremy Key)
Oh Jeremy.
My brother, we were tight like brothers.
We shared so much time, and he’s so smart, so capable, so funny.
My fuckin brother.
I could spend a week coming up with a guitar riff, making it really weird and difficult to play.
He could learn it in 10 minutes .
Oh Jeremy.
(The last person you shot Heroin with)
Such a smart fucking guy.
(Such a criminal)
Look him up, peep this one’s criminal record.
Jeremy Key, Cabarrus County..
Such a criminal.
But if he loved you….
(He was there for your first acid trip)
Had a Volkswagen Bus, true hippie.
Later on, he went to prison, and when he came out?
I got him a job, working Walmart camera system remodels as my helper.
(He also became ultra racist)
Prison racist.
3rd shift..
But after he started getting paychecks, he’d shoot up on lunch break.
3am-4am..
Oh Jeremy.
My brother…
I loved you man.
The two of us together, in our prime,
Unstable and unstoppable.
He played drums in Kevin’s band, never once played before.
We lived together in apartments once,
Took our kayaks, and broke into the community pool,,in Janurary…
Freezing.
Making fires, breaking into cars in the middle of the night…
Man..
You don’t even know.
DOn’t even fuckin know.
Only interested in what was fun..
Prison changed him
(Heroin changed him)
We worked out of town once, and he told me that he was in a place where he couldn’t find heroin,,so he’d buy crack.
He’d dissolve it in vinegar , then shoot it into his arm.
His veins were turning black.
ANd he cried to me once, drunk, told me how bad he fucked everything up.
Such a skilled musician.
Professional level.
(And there he was,,walking on the highway)
He stole from me once.
That was the end,,, maybe twelve years ago.
After trust is betrayed,,?
Jeremy…. walking down the highway..
He had it all man, when he was a hippie,, beautiful girlfriend, sick Volkswagen bus, guitar skills..
(And an appetite for destruction)
God dammit….damn you Jeremy.
Why did you have to do this to yourself?
I loved you like a brother.
Like a fucking brother ..
And there he was,,, walking the highway..
If I was alone, I would have stopped.
I was on the clock.
For my job.
Trying to do right.
I wasn’t in a position.
(He stole from you)
Addiction.
The Jeremy I knew is dead.
This man, this creature, is something else…
And if you think life was hard to you?
You’d have to see him.
You’d have to hear him for a few minutes…
(He’s not who he was)
It still hurt,, it hurt me to see him walking down the highway.
It’s been years and years,,
Poor fucking guy.
The Cycle.
Cycle of destruction.
A story as old as time.
(Time marches on)
On your fucking face. It marches on your face…
God dammit.
Makes me sad.
(Cutting ties)
Nah,, you do what you have to do, when it comes to people..
Do what you have to.
What he became is what makes me sad.
(Gratitude )
Grateful I didn’t have his drug appetite.
A drug monster, a party animal ,,,
A lesser version of Jeremy key.
Life fucked him, right in his asshole.
Hard.
He once told me, in prison he walked into the showers, and he found three guys shoving bars of soap up their asses, and shooting them across the tile floor.
The game was to see how far you could shoot the soap bar,,out of your ass.
My story ain’t shit.
Ain’t sad at all.
His story is the real one.
And we’re not the same anymore,
Sad shit..
It was sad to see him.
(You couldn’t help him..)
You don’t know that!
You don’t fucking know that!!
One good talk,,maybe he could hear me..
(Nothing can beat his demons)
Heart.
Heart could.
Fuck you for saying that.
Lives can change, people can change..
(Too deep.)
Man fuck you,, he was a gem.
So much potential…
Fucking Jeremy.
I’m glad I didn’t go that hard. Glad I didn’t end up there.
(glad you noticed your demons? 😉)
Be aware.
Be very aware.
He turned into something awful 😞
Something you couldn’t trust..
Blehhhh…
(tough)
Makes me sad.
We were close at one time.
Now I realize that he’s too dangerous to even interact with.
Can’t even have a real talk with him.
Creature.
It hurt to see him.
Walking.
Carrying his life.
(compartmentalize)
I guess.
I guess..
(timeline is fuzzy)
It is.
Maybe 15 years ago..
It’s been a long time 😭
Very long time
dawn 