piece_of_work Dafremen Remember Ma? The binoculars you gave me To keep watch outside While you lifted from the store? What a piece of work you were and are Remember ma? Waving to you through the window Of the Greyhound with a stranger Cuz you had to slam some more And go to prison I suppose So with my sister and my brother I spent three days on the road With your pathetic mom What a piece of work she was Remember ma? Bet you didn't know Bet you never heard Bet they never told you About the sacrifices they made To care for us, provide for us What a piece of work it was Can you remember Ma? Me only four with a big bedroom Out in the front yard And our very own bunkbed To keep off the rain A brother for a blanket Sister for a pillow What a piece of work it was Try to remember Ma. Early November Ma When they let the dog inside Then mid-November Ma And we would go in too Watch the Seagram's bottles fly Did you know that they flew? Like teeth they flew Ma Just like teeth and screaming fists Such an impressive piece of work it was Starting in November Ma Wish you could remember Ma How little eskimos kept warm in winter Letting impotent alcoholics Rub them the wrong way Did you know they rubbed Ma? Yea, they screw little girls too Those big silly eskimos do I should know, you know "Uncle" Charlie told me so And he was always right Cuz it hurt when he wasn't Such a piece of work he was Remember Ma? Eating was wrong, he told me that too Guess cuz he had nothing better to do Donut Fridays had their own way of filling Uncle Charlie came back With a sack on his back And the tasties came out What a PIECE of WORK it was Shoulda been there Ma Only on Fridays cuz they're for eating Olives are for Martinis Saturdays through Thursdays for being hungry And Mondays through Sundays for being beaten But I felt real lucky Ma Cuz Uncle Charlie told me so With a switch and a fist He had a way with words With a rope around our necks He sure could make a point Yea, what a piece of work he was Wish you could remember Ma How your mother sat and laughed I think that Betty was her name Wouldn't know, she never talked to me Just Charlie and the bottle And occasionally the dog Wouldn't know just what her name was Just remember how good she was With lampcords and battery acid Did you know she was so skilled? What a piece of work she really was Remember ma? Remember? We deserved it, so I guess it's good Cuz Charlie told us so He told us that we got the worms From eating too much food He told us that we never did A damned thing any good Not like his foot could do No ma'am, it got us good What a piece of work it was Shoulda seen it ma Big enough to knock three teeth out With a single blow And I should know Tooth fairy brought me an infection And they took me to heaven I think Did you know they have doctors there? In heaven that is, yes they do I saw them and the angels were so lovely They brought me lots of food What a PIECE of work it was Shoulda been there Ma! Only got to stay there for a few Kept on falling asleep when I could To die so I could stay But Charlie always woke me up Said I was lazy anyway He was right you know He was always right The welts told us he was And the tricks he could do With a belt and a broom Made my sister's eye blue And my brother's lip too What a piece of work it was And we owe it all to you Shoulda been there ma You coulda sang Happy Birthday with me While Uncle Charlie ate my cake Let us lick frosting off the plates And it was chocolate, my favorite The best I ever had The best I ever could Or Uncle Charlie would get mad And then it would have been my fault And that would not have done at all Uncle Charlie told me so And he was right, always so right To curl his fist up in a ball And teach me something (That I never ever learned) Til I was bleeding from my nose And I guess that taught me too Taught me that Charlie was always right Or I'd regret it I suppose What a piece of work the whole thing was Like I said, we owe it all to you Remember Ma, remember? Well thank you, I remember too. 021124 ... ego hump pray for us 230110 ... Lialei {{{*}}} 230112 what's it to you? who go blather from