A SONG OF BLUNDER
Years ago I read a clever story
And it inspired the song that I will sing:
Time-travelers sought prehistoric glory,
Went back, and changed a tiny little thing;
Their blunder made reality unravel
Which felt just like the world in which we swim—
As if one tripped in his temporal travel—
If so, I’d really like to ask of him:
Who stepped on the butterfly?
Was it you or was it I?
Everything has gone awry—
All freshly bad and new;
Who stomped on that lovely bug?
From under us they’ve yanked the rug—
It feels as if they’ve pulled the plug
It’s all gone quite askew;
As I intone my song of thud and blunder
I wonder at a distant sound of thunder;
The sky was blue and now it’s gray;
It looks like it’s that way to stay—
It might have happened anyway;
There’s not much we can do.
– Andy Senior, July 16, 2022
I NEED A CHANGE OF HEARTBREAK
It gets to be a bore
To have a heart that’s sore
And sore the same way it was sore before;
I’ll pick it off the floor
And walk right out the door—
I can’t stand this monotony no more:
I need a change of heartbreak
This one’s hung around too long,
A different kind of heartache
Wouldn’t feel so very wrong;
It’s high time for forgetting
So I’ll look for someone new
A charmer who will break my heart
The way you used to do.
You used to be so kind
And so I didn’t mind
When you ate bacon and gave me the rind;
But through the years I find
Your sweetness has declined—
Goodbye, my love—the papers have been signed;
And so I’ll leave this city
Pack my bags and go away;
A brand new disappointment’s
Bound to find me every day;
I know I can’t be happy
But I know I can be free
With a brand new shiny heartbreak
Waiting somewhere just for me.
– Andy Senior, July 23, 2021 & July 23, 2022
