Rows

[couchgrouch]

RowsA brand new dad peeks through the glasshis child's one of manyin cribs laid out in rowsall the same sizeneat and organizedlife begins in rowsyoung schoolgirlwith hand-me-down clothesher nut brown hairbraided in rowsshe raises her handbut they don't seecos her face blends inwith all the other seatslined up in rowseach in their placeby design, in their assigned spacelife goes on in rowscrop rows paved overmaking room for rows of carsrows of tract housingcrowded rows of tin dreamsin trailer parksa has-been singer saysmoney has been temptingso he wakes his weary songsbut now the rows are emptyall the same sizeneat and organizedlife fades away in rowsbut look up in the nightand see stars without endbeyond bye and bye, scattered crazy in the skycos nothing can force theminto rowsbut as far as a man can seeand as far as he goesfor a while he'll feel freebut he must obey the rowsa woman recalls her weddingwhen friends filled rows of pewsthen time hid her wedding albumin a row of dusty books now she walks the grasswith a bouquet alonelooking for her manin lonely rows of stoneseach in their placeby design, in their assigned spacelife ends in rows(c)2004 Robert George