Malvina Reynolds: Song Lyrics and Poems  



Untitled

Notes: by Malvina Reynolds; previously unpublished.


Here is the world,
I wish it were better for you,
Little friend.
I did my best, but there's not much
One fellow can do to amend it.
It's gotten too big, too many, too much,
With the scheme and the shout
And the elbows stuck out,
But there's still a wild acre or two
To run in, I guess,
If you can find it,
And a word from the stars
If you listen and mind it,
Small son.

There's a couple of things in your favor,
There's love to betray you to stay,
To linger,
There's youth for a while with a smile and a savor
Like apples and brandy and May.
So have what you can,
Little man,
And the hold of my finger.

Those shiny new eyes
Will see God knows what
Before you have grown to my size.
You'll think that the moon is an apple to pull from the skies,
But you'll have to settle for neon in bloom
Or an unshaded bulb in a tenement room--
It's been done,
Little son.


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