With Vedalia's People

We traveled down to Magerno
Pronounced Mah-ger-know
But spelled some other way
That I can't spell
And don't care to

Magerno

That's where Vedalia's people live

In a big orange house, no less
Nice staircases
Made out of that dark, dark wood

Stained, they call it
Maybe

They hustle us in
Me and the girls
And they feed us
All sorts of stuff
So much of it coming
I don't even know what it is
Until it's halfway to my stomach

The girls get excited
'Cause there's Auntie this
And Auntie that
And lots of women
And the girls haven't had any women around

Not since Vedalia's been gone

They ask me how I'm getting along
And I say I'm getting
But I don't know if I'm going anywhere

Or if I'm getting wherever I'm going
Anytime soon

I can see that they think I'm losing my mind
And that's fine by me

Put my hat down over my face
And pretend I'm a farm worker

That I'm good and dumb
So everybody'll leave me alone

The girls play in the sprinklers
With cousins they've never met
Saying 'Hi, I'm so-and-so'
And 'Hi, I'm this-and-that'

And 'My Mama died'

That one I hear
Even under my hat
And my put-upon stupidity

That one I heard loud and clear

Here we are, Vedalia
Your girls and your husband
Here with your people
With your folks

Tucked in all safe in our beds
Fed and fussed over
Wondering why it is
Your family doesn't believe
In air-conditioning

I don't particularly want to be here
But then again
I don't want to be anywhere nowadays
Except with you
Wherever you are

I understand about the girls
I have the girls
I'm all they have
I understand that

But oh, how I miss you

I miss you
Like the honey
Misses the hive

And nobody's people are going to make that better
Not even yours, baby

Not even yours

And they can't good people either
If they never visited
Even when you got sick
Just because they thought I was a--

Well

I won't say anything

Now, they want to be friendly
So I'll be friendly

Maybe they thought you were bluffing
When you said you didn't have long

They all have the long, dark smell of guilt on them
Like old basements

Maybe some day I'll speak my mind to them
But for now
I'll sit

And I'll watch
And I'll be pleasant

But all the time
I'll be missing you
Listening to the sprinkler
And the sound of girls
Introducing themselves
To their family