AIN’T HOME YET

Ain't home yet, but I'm heading that way
One more county, one more song to play
Porch light waiting where the blacktop ends
I ain't home yet — but I'm close again

Fourteen hours and a paper-cup stain
Truck-stop coffee and Oklahoma rain
Cargo humming in the trailer behind
Mama's last voicemail replaying in my mind
She said, “Your boy grew another inch”
“Dog still sleeps by the backyard fence”
“Don't drive tired just to prove you're strong”
But home gets louder the longer you're gone
Mile two hundred, moon rode low
Wipers kept time with the radio
Every green sign cut the distance down
But none could bring me inside that town

White lines
Red eyes
One small light
In a wide black sky

Ain't home yet, but I'm heading that way
One more county, one more song to play
Porch light waiting where the blacktop ends
I ain't home yet — but I'm close again

Dispatch called with an extra run
Good money east if I chased the sun
My hand stayed still on the steering wheel
That check was big, but the absence was real
Turned down work for the first time then
Took Exit Nine by the old grain bins
Son ran barefoot through the wet front yard
Like love hadn't counted how long or far
I used to bring home whatever I earned
Now I know return is something you learn
A full bank account can't tuck him in
Some roads pay less but still let you win

I kept saying
I was doing it for them.
Then I finally listened
to what they were asking for.

I'm home now, let the whole road wait
Keys on the counter, freight can wait
Porch light shining where the blacktop ends
I wasn't lost — I was late again

Made it.