Pearl Street

It was the last time we were ever all together
The old house on Pearl Street, late summer afternoon
Richard was just out of the service, he played piano
He and Betsi sang old show tunes
And everyone was drinking cheap champagne except for me
Because I was underage
And when Richard played How High the Moon
And all the others joined in, drunk and out of tune
I leaned across his arm and turned the page

Then Richard went out to smoke a cigarette
Betsi made a call, could hear her in the kitchen crying on the phone
My mother went upstairs complaining of a headache
I borrowed keys to father’s Cimarron and I drove Grandma home
And on the road along the river I thought of driving on forever
But I took the long way back instead
When I got in the house was quiet
I poured myself some whiskey just to try it
Lay awake wondering how it feels to smoke in bed

Maybe everything happens for a reason
Richard took the nasty habits he’d picked up overseas
And moved to San Francisco with his friends from the armed forces
Betsi got married to a man who raises horses
And I spent a hundred bucks to buy a travel trailer up on blocks
Moved to Dean and Betsi’s land
And I wake restless, wild to fall
In love or trouble, anything at all
Like waiting for the day is more than I can stand

©2004 Annie Gallup

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