Midlife Waters

[Intro] [Verse 1] Well, the clock hit forty-five and the hairline retired, His Corolla’s got dents but the tires still grip. Now he’s knee-deep in muck, wadin’ Cypress Creek’s edge, With two banded watersnakes in a cracked Rubbermaid tub. Nerodia pictiventris—Latin on his lips, Midnight drives for minnows, got a tackle box tip. The PTA thinks he’s cracked, but he don’t mind the laughs, ‘Cause their hissin’ fills the silence where his doubts used to c***h. [Chorus] Oh, it’s serpentine salvation in a midlife haze, Scales and silt where the mortgage once laid. They ain’t cuddly, but they’re his to defend, A fork in the creek where the boy meets the end. [Verse 2] His ex-wife said, “Get therapy,” but he bought swamp maps instead, Learned their moltin’ cycles like his old coffee spread. Now he’s teachin’ YouTube how a Nerodia breeds, While the neighbors peek through blinds, whisperin’, “That man’s got needs.” [Bridge] The world spins fast, but the creek bends slow, In the murk and the reeds, time’s just a shadow. They coil ‘round his wrist like a livin’ regret, But their wild, jagged grace—man, he ain’t tasted that yet. [Chorus] Oh, it’s serpentine salvation in a midlife haze, Scales and silt where the mortgage once laid. They ain’t cuddly, but they’re his to defend, A fork in the creek where the boy meets the end. [Outro]