In Chicago

I had a girl once
she lived in Chicago
I once walked the L-Train tracks
hand and hand
with her
as the snow feel gently into her hair
so beautiful was she then
as we would descend down the concrete stairs
at the Grandeville station stop
and listen to Christmas tunes on the Juke
at Standee's
she is still over there in Chicago
and I am over her
in the terrific terror of sun and surf
that is Southern California
making a mess of myself
making a mess of my life
as the last day of Summer slipped away
and Fall exchanged some lies with me.

I once had a girl in Illinois
in a big windy city there
the sweetest girl that you could have possibly known
her soul was lightning in a bottle
and her thoughts were pure unfiltered dreams.

It has been almost a year
since I have seen
a girl that I once had
who lives in Chicago

she speaks little to me now
and thinks very little of me
I am sure

and the world, for me, is lonely
the sharks are hungry
the crooked lines I walk are shadow-less and profane
just the other day
I heard the snap of tree limbs
in the havoc of desert winds
and I thought of my life up till now ...

I would fly to Chicago
but I have $38.43 in my checking account
and $76.52 in my savings.

Maybe, I will walk there
it would be quit a long distance on foot
I would not reach her until December
I may not even reach her at all
and I would go to my certain death
in the freezing wind and snow

perhaps I will save my rainy day penny's
and someday I will see her again
when American Airlines
comes down on their ticket prices.

I had a girl once
she lived in Chicago, Illinois ...