Last Chance Town

Scott Gardiner
Poets Unlimited
Published in
3 min readJul 28, 2017

I walk down the street and I see the same faces day after day
They don’t even look human, more like a mask made out of clay
I have to touch each one just to see if it is real or a fake
I have to get out of here, I’ve taken all of this that I can take

The wind blows the dust and it swirls like a tornado in the sky
I pull my hat down low just to keep the dust out of my eyes
Walking tall with my chest out, my swagger is nothing more than a lie
The sign said artists wanted, con men and imposters need not apply

The street signs told me I was at the intersection of love and hate
All the people looked bewildered, to which I can surely relate
Wandering the alleys just trying to find their way
You can make it out of here but there’s some dues that you’ll have to pay

Went to buy a bus ticket, the man said where are you headed my son?
I have no destination in mind, so why don’t you just choose me one
It may seem like I’m a fugitive, a wayward soul on the run
But it’s nothing like that, I just need to be movin on

I looked at my ticket, I was headed for a town called Last Chance
Last chance at fulfilled promises, one last chance at romance
When the music starts playing you better be sure that you dance the dance
You’d better come with a plan, don’t leave it all to circumstance

It seemed like forever but the bus finally got me there
I walked into Last Chance saloon and they made me the Mayor
The pretty bartender said, I don’t know if you’re aware
But the next town on this highway is a little place called Despair

I told her thank you my dear, but I plan to head in another direction
I’ll make the most of my time here now that I have won the election
I’m just going to sit on this bar stool and take some time for reflection
Before I take another stab at acceptance or rejection

Somehow it came to be that I made Last Chance my home
When you’re with like-minded folk you’re never really alone
I’ll be the Mayor of Last Chance at least until I’m overthrown
Until that day comes you can find me sittin on my throne

It’s really quite a place, if you want to come here you are certainly invited
Don’t judge us on the name, that would be incredibly shortsighted
When you finally get here, our love can be re-ignited
You can wait here with me while your citizenship is expedited

Oh this may seem like a tale of a man just wandering around
But if you look a little deeper it’s about a man who was lost and then found
It’s not a story full of nonsense, it’s actually quite profound
It’s about a man who found peace and acceptance in Last Chance town

Find Scott’s book on his website or Amazon or the Kindle version.

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Scott Gardiner
Poets Unlimited

Writer of little note, or maybe writer of little notes.