And just like that

I'm on the road again

Never stopping, never slowing down

Except for dinner at the bar

My buddies and I used to hang at

Before life caught up with us

I sit alone watching a family

Enjoying a reunion

I sit alone watching a guy like me

Being serenaded by his friends

I hang my head low

Thinking about another life I could have had

If only I had chosen this instead of that

Turned around here rather than there

My hands are empty in front of me

No money, no family

Nothing but the regrets of decisions made

Day after day after day for decades

And just like that

The guy like me turns his head

Beckoning for me to join him and his friends

I hesitate and he smiles, one hand outstretched

Part of me holds back, afraid that this person's kindness is somehow a trap

I am reminded of all that I've lost, all that I've given

All that I've gotten, and all that I have

Here is a person reaching out a hand but

Little do they know it's more than that to me

It means everything

And just like that

I'm not alone anymore

I'm cracking jokes and laughing with other men again