Dad's Last Stand

I got up that morning same as always

Kind of surprised I was still around

Well, breakfast for one more day anyways

Cereal and evaporated milk and pearl tea, half a banana…

When I think back now I’d been talkin’ ‘bout dyin’ for quite some time

My brother dropped dead of a heart attack at forty-six so

I kind of thought the same thing might happen to me.

I was always talkin’ ‘bout my heart givin’ out so that

No one would be too surprised, kind of warning them you see

I never thought I’d be livin’ yet at almost ninety-one

Oh, I could be ornery, I know that and most of the time

I kind of liked to just be alone, no one to bother me

But I did like when the kids would come home to visit

And I tried to put on a cheerful face most of the time when they did come ‘round.

I‘d had a dream one night ‘bout a big house with all kinds of room

Thought it was Maw had come to get me and was showin’ me around

The ceilings were so darn high, and I wondered why you’d waste all that space!

Guess it was a dream, thought it was, but it seemed different than that

Kind of like I was really there.

Later there was a lady came in the laneway and she was the one

Found me lyin’ on my face next to the tree at the back

Where I used to wash up after hayin’

Just fell down and stayed there, that was it then.

Saved Glenn  findin’ me, was better that way.

I stayed around  ‘til they called Gun and Carol, they had to

Get the police to come and make all that fuss,

Hardly seemed worth all that bother.

What else did they expect to happen when it was

An old bugger like me?

Ninety-one, imagine that.

Well I finally got to go see Maw.

They done ‘er up right, nice funeral like Maw’s was…..

I always told them not to feel bad, made me feel bad

To see them all cryin’

Well I sure had enough time.

Nice up here in this here mansion with the tall walls…

Awful nice seein’ Maw again ‘a course

Still can’t see why they wasted all that space.

with love to my Dad,

cailin raine