The Badman

Mummy always told me

to stay away

from the bad man.

Five foot, nine

horn-rimmed glasses,

and you had him.

He would always stop to talk

at my lemonade stand.

Not sure what she was thinking

He was always there drinking-

My lemonade

Several years later

I still stayed away

from the bad man.

Not quite sure why

mother and I

always had him.

He, to this day, is still

talking to me.

Not sure what he's thinking

these days he's locked away drinking...

Twenty years by

a funeral was dry

and we put to rest our bad man.

I looked down in the dirt,

trying not to look hurt,

but we had him.

I had to wonder what

was really bad there?

I'm not sure what we were thinking,

but I guess he'd finally stopped drinking.

I met Sally Rae

a day after May

in the Summer.

We walked and we talked,

and we tied the knot

soon thereafter.

It was a big old white wedding.

Sally caught me in her netting.

Not sure what I was thinking,

everyone sat there... just drinking.

Its in my old age

I remember the sage

of the bad man.

As I iron my shirt,

I just undid the hurt,

but not for the bad man.

What kind of darkness

was hidden inside?

What was that thing

that he just couldn't hide?

I keep on wondering

why was he bad?

I do the same things-

am I going mad?

These days I stop to talk

at the lemonade stand.

Not sure what I was thinking...

I just couldn't seem to stop drinking-

the lemonade