The Woman in the Hotel

The hotel you stay in

While his wife

Is institutionalized

Is a very lovely hotel

The awnings

The wallpaper

The lobby

With its very friendly staff

Happy to help you

To your room

As they politely inform you

That you are not permitted

To leave

Because your stay has been paid for

By a man

That the hotel

Has a great deal of respect for

And he has told them

That you’re there

For your own protection

But, of course,

This is not an asylum

Like the one

He placed his wife in

And so you are very lucky

Because you get to stay

In a pretty room

Facing the park

And you can eat

All the room service you want

And it’ll all be paid for

By a very nice man

Who has taken an interest in you

And aren’t you lucky

That somebody cares enough

To put you up

In a nice hotel

While they deal with the struggle

Of having

An unstable wife

You are brought dresses to wear

Outfits to wear

Lingerie to wear

If you need anything

You pick up the phone

And you can ask for something

And most times

You’ll get what you like

And sometimes

You won’t

But if you don’t get

What you’re looking for

When the man who put you

In this hotel shows up

For his daily visit

He’ll explain to you

Why you don’t need

What you thought you needed

You are not to ask

About his wife

And how she’s doing

Even though you harbor

No ill will against her

And simply want her

To be well

So that she can take care of this man

The same way you take care of him

Part of you worries

That one day

He’ll try to make you a wife

The same way she’s a wife

But then what would happen to her?

And what would happen to you?

Would you be put away somewhere?

Somewhere that isn’t as nice

As a hotel by the park

With beautiful blue carpet

In the lobby

And all along the hallways

And so many towels

That you take shower after shower

Just because you want to use

All those towels

And when you run out

Somebody has to come

Bring you more towels

And no matter how many

You ask for

You always get your towels

But phone calls

To anyone

Outside of the hotel

Are not permitted

And that’s for your own good

And you know that

This man wants what’s best for you

And it’s a good thing he came along

Because where you’re from

Nobody cares about what happens

To anybody else

That’s how you know

He’s a caring man

A loving man

A man who would do anything

For the people
That matter to him

You think about how fortunate

You and his wife are

Because he has to worry

About both of you

He must spend

So much time

Worrying about the two of you

As he goes back and forth

From an asylum

And a hotel

Every day

That he probably has barely

Any room left

For loving you

But he does it anyway

Aren’t you lucky?

You have to remind yourself
All the time

Just how lucky

You are