Elliott

Elliott come in his raincoat to see me.

Elliott, holding a damp paper torch.

It wasn’t long before I dreamed of Elliott

Lying in wait on the step of the porch.

I bring out the bottles and all of the garbage;

Who should I find in the street in my mind

But Elliott, walking out late in the lamplight,

Grinning to see me in all my surprise?

But he don’t mean any harm,

And strangers are dangerous only when you play the part,

And you feel you were cold in the blood of your heart.

Elliott come to the sidewalk to see me.

Elliott knows all the ways I walk home.

Wherever I’m crossing, there I will find Elliott

Parked in his car with his sunglasses on.

Everyone knows that you shouldn’t tempt Elliott,

Your body as wet as a peach on the tongue.

When you’re feeling tired, he’ll come to unburden you,

The burden a virtue to fold in his palm.

But you’re not the only one.

It’s probably your vanity making you feel so alone.

And he’s already gone, and what harm was done?

It wasn’t long before I dreamed of Elliott,

His presence run through me, a tangling thread.

I dreamed his desire had thrived on indifference;

I tried it on like a beautiful dress.

Everyone knows when you don’t deny Elliott,

When none of your words feel as good as your own.

You’re a frog swimming in boiling water.

You answered the door when you shouldn’t be home.

But what if you were wrong?

What once felt like graciousness pulled back the sheet you had hung.

If you wouldn’t have thought, then he wouldn’t have come.