miss Laurel and i sat at afternoon tea
in the thick of the moment, she looked up at me.
she sipped at her coffee and looked at my eyes,
and she blurted out suddenly, to my surprise:
i'm just here. i'm halfway done.
life is a ball of yarn that i've half spun.
and there's nothing to do but sit here with you
and wonder what i could have done.
she said, "i've this apartment, this van and this cat,
& i'm not getting pregnant, i'm just getting fat.
i'm just waiting for something that won't come along
and i'm wondering where i went horribly wrong."
i said, "life's like a shelf you can't reach at the store,
& you haven't grown yet since you've been there before.
every now and then people complain you're too slow,
but you've got to accept the ebb and the flow."
she said, "mother reproves me for the length of my dress
& my sister's got 8 kids, but i'm not impressed.
but now i can't see past the bridge of my nose,
and these glasses make me feel so dreadfully old.
it's just that. i'm halfway through.
life's a late ball, but i'm seasick by nine.
i hear from my mum that Prince Charming will come,
but he sure is taking his time."
i said, "love's like a tidal wave, clearing it's path
and it surges, and paints hearts to blue that were black.
every now and then you must demolish to grow,
and you've got to accept the ebb and the flow."
she said, "i think i'll give up this dastardly plan,
and i'll get out of Kansas as fast as i can.
go to bright Barcelona, i'll waitress till i am
quite fluent, and then i'm resorting to crime.
i'll steal hearts like they're diamonds, and break them in two.
i'll be brilliant and dandy by the time i'm through.
that's just it! i'm halfway there.
if love is a lift, then i'm taking the stairs.
& you tell me it's simple, like curling your hair,
but if that's so love, then i'm color impaired."
i said, "life's like a peach tree with branches that sprawl,
and you pick a few peaches, but you can't have them all.
cause your arms will be full, and you'll drop at least half;
and see, life isn't meant to be lived out like that.
you just follow your heartstrings where ever they go,
and you've got to accept the ebb and the flow."