welcome this is a farmhouse
we have cluster-flies, alas,
and this time of year is bad

we are so very sorry
there is little we can do
but swat them

she didn’t beg
or not enough
she didn’t stay when things got tough

I told a lie
and she got mad
she wasn’t there when things got bad

I never ever saw the northern lights
I never really heard of cluster-flies
I never ever saw the stars so bright
in the farmhouse things will be all right

woke this morning to the stinging lash
every man rise from the ash
each betrayal begins with trust
every man returns to dust

I never ever saw the northern lights
I never really heard of cluster-flies
I never ever saw the stars so bright
in the farmhouse things will be all right

Originally appears on __