South

I am surprised to get
A letter from you now
I living miles from here
In the loneliness of south
The people here won’t see it
They like to live alone
In the quiet of their evening times
I hear their bed boards moaning
Father Franco has a hold on things
And he’s not letting go
What the Virgin Mary doesn’t see
She doesn’t need to know
You find a roll on Centre St
And I stay home all night
The buzzer hasn’t worked in years
Unless you push it right
The sun it doesn’t shine here
It tortures hands in time
We bear our broken bodies to her
I’m burning all the time
Your family told me that you’d found
A better man than me
I hope you’ll be allowed to laugh
In polite company