Down the Hall

I had the flu in the prison infirmary

My last day I looked up and saw

A man wheeled around the corner

Down to skin and bones, that's all

I asked the nurse where he was goin'

She said, "Hospice down the hall

He probably won't be in there long

Any day we'll get the call"

I asked if they let family in

She said, "Not really at the end

Truth is, a lot don't have someone

No friends or next of kin"

The thought of those guys goin' out alone

It hit me somewhere deep

I asked, could I go sit with 'em

For some comfort and relief?

Next thing you know, I'm on the ward

Doin' things you can't believe

Like shavin' Julio's bony head

Crackin' him up when I wash his feet

Oh well, I used to run when I saw Tyrone

Knowin' your place's what it's all about

And now he's here doubled up in pain

Cancer eatin' him from the inside out

I sit and wait outside his stall

To help him when he's done

Whatever shame we might have felt

Well, all that's come undone

Well, I can't undo the wrong I did

Give back the life I took

But maybe when it comes my turn

I'll get a second look

I don't know 'bout religion

Only know what I see

And in the end when I hold their hand

It's both of us set free