Baby’s stumbling down
a loud lighted jangling street
looking for a rocker named Jerry
who once made her happy
She’s got a forest in her mind,
tries to stumble through its wildflowers,
bramble bushes, thistles and thorns
like those in the fairy tales
The cheerleader Baby was
still leaps now and then
into a sunny fall afternoon
before a blur of bleachers
In a thrift store shawl
and knitted cap
she’s still’s a pretty girl
in the eyes of strangers
Baby’s not doing very well overall, Daddy
Just gots her two feet, a black plastic bag
No dollar bill, no soul no more
No place to rest
She just trudges around, trudges around
in the middle of traffic against red lights
trying to find Jerry
in the zones of the long forgotten