Soul Crime Today

The inspector knocked at eight o'clock today
He wore a grey coat and held a yellow file
He said your soul slipped out while you were asleep
It walked across the avenue at night
It broke into the house at forty-two
They logged a soul crime today

I asked the officer what my soul had done
He clicked his pen and looked me in the eye
He said it did not steal the silverware
It did not touch the money on the drawer
It only stood beside her sleeping face
They logged a soul crime today

I told the man I locked the front door tight
I turned the key before I went to bed
He said the lock was whole but souls can slide
Right through the cracks whenever moonlight falls
It left a shadow footprint on her rug
They logged a soul crime today

He typed the notice on an old machine
And pressed the seal in dark official blue
He handed me the pink receipt to sign
And told me what the precinct clerk would do
A soul that wanders off must pay a fine
They logged a soul crime today

I took the bus downtown to room fourteen
I waited behind seven other men
The woman at the desk looked up at me
She asked me if I came to pay the bail
I said I only wanted what was mine
They logged a soul crime today

She took my wrist and checked my pulse real slow
She said your soul is held till morning light
It sits inside a small wooden box upstairs
I walked back home alone under the rain
My coat felt lighter than it used to feel
They logged a soul crime today