IF YOU SHOULD KNOW
(Music and lyrics by Julia Olivarez)

I don't know why the sight
of a Ferris wheel at night
should make me cry.
I don't know why.
And why a little girl
on a garish Tilt-a-Whirl
is even sadder
is a similar matter.
Those blowzy Peruvian voles
with their pelts all full of holes
and their stupid water bowls
make me scream "This must be a dream."

But I haven't seen a lady
from the forests of Arcady
in many a year.
My deepest fear
is that the freaks have all departed
droopy-drawered and broken-hearted
and retired like crippled larks
to a brace of trailer parks
where the owners drink cheap beer

If you should know of an address
or have an educated guess
where I might send a box of toys
to the last of the dogfaced boys
please let me know
I miss him so

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