From Merrit Malloy's
book----The People Who Didn't Say Goodbye
SOMETHING YOU CAN COUNT ON
I want to tell you
in a few words
what I could not tell you
in too
many
I want you to know
that it will be hard
to live without
you
again
You will always be the one
I'm thinking about
when somebody asks
me
who I'm thinking
about
SOCIAL SECURITIES
It's easy to grow old
All you have to do is
go on living . . .
But
If you grow old together
You have to do it
with
somebody
SOMETHING I OFTEN FORGET DURING THE DAY
The stars don't come out at night
. . . They have always
been there
EARNINGS
There were lots of times
when they didn't think
they'd make it
Nights when they
would lie awake
just holding
on
And often
when the babies were little
they thought about
leaving
each other
But ... they
wouldn't
Later
When they could have
they didn't
So
'In for a penny, in for a pound,'
my Nana used to say
. . . The
secret to staying together
is to stay
together
OLD PHOTOGRAPHS
How often
do you think of all those people
who you were
never
going to
forget
NATIVE DANCERS
You know you'll be back ... So
where are you
going?
Is leaving me
the only way you have of finding out
how much I want
you
to stay?
A MATTER OF FACT
It's amazing how many people
will care about you
if only you would
care
about them . . . And
It's even more remarkable
how many people
will care about
you
anyway
CONTEMPLATION
I wonder what cats think about
. . . They always look as
though
they're planning
something
CHOICES
All you have to do
to change your life
is to change your mind
...
It really is that simple
But it isn't always
easy
All you have to do to
stop feeling bad
is to start feeling
good .
. . but
'Feeling good' is not a
onetime event
It is a decision we
make
minute by minute
day by day
... It is a creation
The way to change the world
is to change your attitude
towards
it
. . . not just once
but all the
time
AN ARGUMENT FOR ABSOLUTION
He thinks his honesty
redeems him ... He thinks
telling the
truth
will change the
facts
He thinks confessing his crimes
and giving you their brutal
details
will change everything
But
Honesty has never
changed
the
truth
THE LIE THAT CAME TRUE
I said, "I'll miss you"
but, I didn't
then
How could I understand change
when my socks were always in the same
drawer?
how could I know how to want you back
when you'd always been with
me?
"I'll miss you," I said
. . . it was a lie
that
came
true
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE
He lives across the street
And I measure off the block
at both
ends
so that the whole neighborhood
can be our home
. . . He in one
room
Me in another
The distance between
any two people
is only the length
of
their
arms