[delta null]
[lyrics: wagner]


she accepted his advance because she was convinced he was her last best chance,
as good as could be gotten while there was still ticking and tocking in the clock-pants.
thought the marriage dance would materialize from mirage to meaning in romance,
though she'd heard he had a penchant for cheating,
but figured the ring would crystallize won'ts into can'ts.

fancy the fantasy, sans the trance.
enchanted to buy into the dance of the also-rans.

they'd been flattening the bedding for a married month
when the dizzy glow of planning the wedding dimmed to choke off the light
and she had to admit the big change she'd expected to find
was not exactly forthcoming so she checked the magazines again
and made a decision that with the addition of children
she'd doubtlessly land the rewarding life.

she called up the barkeep and asked him to put on the husband
and told him about her revelation, a sudden longing in the stomach.
he grunted his resignation, and said he'd be home later,
and she logged onto baby name websites and he stayed out most of the night.
when he crept into their bedroom, and saw her soundly sleeping,
he had an impulse to leave town, but he was too old for that now,
and he figured the only things left were his job and a promise he'd be keeping.

use the press, to push the sand through the glass.
using sex and sitcoms to make the time pass.
use the five-year plan to justify the boring present as a future boring past.

the family grew and her little ones provided a respite
from the building pressure of finding self-directed satisfaction in her mind.
focusing attention on the kids, living through them as they experience
their own existence in a way that still allows room for wonder.

it made it easier to accept the stagnation she'd decided
would set in after college; after all, you couldn't fight it.
but who was she to complain? she had exactly what she had been prescribed.
and finally the fear of failing could be put to rest --
this was the only life, right?


back to songs...