Fleeting Glances

Passing someone on the interstate might not seem like a big deal at first, but a look can either tell you everything about a stranger, or make you think about them as you drive on. Where are they going? Do they live in that huge, three-story house down the street from you, or does that run-down trailer two blocks from the music store belong to them? Of course, maybe we'll never know, if all we give someone is a glance at the stop light.

Looking out the window
Waiting for the light to change
He pulls up next to me
I glance as he looks my way
We smile and I see a band of gold
He waves as the light turns green
A fleeting glance is all he leaves
How many kids does he feed, and
Is he going home to them?
Does he love his wife,
Or was she by herself last night?
A simple glance can make me think
Of the crowns we polish by ourselves
And trade for paper or plastic lives

Driving through Atlanta
Rush hour's been hell for long enough
I pass an accident on the right
Two women shouting at the other
I see one's daughter perched on the trunk
She gives a sage's smile to me
With no concern for her mother's cries
A Mustang blows his horn at me
So I turn up the radio and drive on
Where were they going?
Was her Daddy on his way,
Or did he leave his wife last month?
Maybe she was the one that left.
Another fleeting glance
As life goes on passing me by

Filling the gas tank
A policeman pulls in front of me
He tips his hat, and I smile back,
Pay with my card, and start to think:
Is his gas low after a speeder chase?
How many rounds had left his gun today,
And did a robber's hostage leave safely?
Another fleeting glance
Can I relate to their tribulations
And could they relate to mine?
Driving on, I'll never know
For life goes by in a fleeting glance.