Clothes Line

After a while we took in the clothes

Nobody said very much

Just some old wild shirts and a couple pairs of pants

Which nobody really wanted to touch

Mama come in and picked up a book

And Papa asked her what it was

Someone else asked, “What do you care?”

Papa said, “Well, just because.”

Then they started to take back their clothes

Hang them on the line

It was January the thirtieth

And everybody was feelin’ fine

The next day everybody got up

Seeing if the clothes were dry

The dogs were barking, a neighbor passed

Mama, of course, she said, “Hi!”

“Have you heard the news?” he said, with a grin

“The Vice President’s gone mad!”

“Where?” “Downtown.” “When?” “Last night”

“Hmm, say, that’s too bad!”

“Well, there’s nothing’ we can do about it,” said the neighbor

“It’s just something we’re gonna have to forget”

“Yes, I guess so,” said Ma

Then she asked me if the clothes was still wet

I reached up, touched my shirt

And the neighbor said, “Are those clothes yours?”

I said, “Some of them, not all of them”

He said, “Ya always help out around here with the chores?”

I said, “Sometime, not all the time”

Then my neighbor, he blew his nose

Just as Papa yelled outside

“Mama wants you to’ come back in the house and bring them clothes!”

Well, I just do what I’m told

So, I did it, of course

I went back in the house and Mama met me

And then I shut all the doors