When I Hung You Out To Dry

When I Hung You Out To Dry



Clouds lazily drift by as children sing,
A picnic is laid out right near the swings,
Yet an ant on your blanket interrupts this gentle scene,
And you grab an axe and look for me
Making sure the edge is keen.

There’s a cobra in your favourite playground,
And a growing (angry) crowd of your supporters
Are pointing their pitchforks my way;
I try to raise my hands to say I am sorry
But the shifting shadows from your torches might just
Be the end of me.

The children spin ‘round and ‘round and ‘round,
Their shrieks of joy a prelude
To your yells of accusation,
As I am apparently to blame for your discovery
Of scorpions on the merry-go-round.

It’s not that I’m perfect or don’t do no wrong
(I’ve got your memory to remind me of that fact),
It’s just that every bee in your bonnet
Wasn’t placed there by me,
And telling others that I (and I alone)
Am to blame for everything that isn’t
Pristine and glossy (rosy and sunshiny-bright)
In the playground of your life,
Doesn’t make it so.

I know that life is tough,
Bad situations make emotions rough,
And I’m sorry for every frustration that ever made you cry
But not every evil in your life has to do with
When I hung you out to dry.

There is no way to express to you
How every caress and hug and smile
Was sincere, heart-felt and well-meant;
You’re not here now
And you’re so very busy in your frantic playground
Stirring up the mob (Lex Luthor versus Clark Kent?).

And it’s not that I’m not sorry
With every fibre of my being
For each and every little decision that
Ever made you hurt;
But I know that life goes on and
The sun shines on the wicked and the just
And my life and heart aren’t broken
Despite your gravely throwing clods of dirt.

And I know that your life is tough,
Bad situations make emotions scarred and rough,
And for every time I let you down I wish that I could (save you and) die,
But not everything in your life has to do with
When I hung you out to dry.

Yes, I know that life is tough,
Bad situations make emotions rough,
And I’m sorry for every frustration that ever made you cry
But not every evil in your life has to do with
When I hung you out to dry.

(Dedicated to R.M. and MJ – “I’m sorry”)



May 31st, 2011