In the Hometown of the Devil

There’s a truck stop on the turnpike
where the whores turn tricks to tithe
to a preacher who speaks in Elvis tongues
and wears rhinestones every night.
He loves legal tender
but takes a check if it’s all you’ve got
in the hometown
of the devil,
in this place
that God forgot.

There’s a rent house on the corner
standing dormant in the dark.
That rent house on the corner
holds a bloody, broken heart.
I heard there was a murder there;
the killer was never caught
in the hometown of the devil,
this place
that God forgot.

Up the road and down the hill,
two kids straggle home.
They microwave some frozen meals
and eat them all alone.
Sister says Mom’s coming home;
Brother says she’s not,
in the hometown
of the devil,
the place
that God forgot.