Gillian Welch :: Orphan Girl
from Favorite Moments of Least Favorite Step-Fathers
The way newspaper softens
after crumpling and uncrumpling
while waiting for the newlyweds
to get home from their datenight.
The quiet you insert
after each question
he asks—some late evening drive—
and how the power you feel is even
better than hoping you appear
thoughtful.
Ditchgrass out the window
practices its magic as if it’s got all the time
in the world.
The girl’s hair smells
of lifesavers. She smiles with half
her mouth and asks if you think
people
should be married forever.
Summer. So hot you wonder
if the crickets might
rub themselves
into flames, and their music swells
just as you’ve decided, one last time,
if you like it better when he introduces
you as his stepson, or simply his son.
Orphan Girl (4.5mb mp3)
Gillian Welch (homepage, profile)