Full Employment

Vanessa called all the way from Toronto
She said that I could count on her
If ever I was down and out
After I hung up the phone i played
The six-holed wooden flute she gave me
On the occasion of our parting
I figured out the fingering
And I played it better than I had ever done
Tears came out of my eyes
Because of the sound, and the recollection
Of her extraordinary beauty
Which no one could avoid
And because she said
A song had gone missing
And I had been selected
Out of all the unemployed
I had been selected to recover it
I see you in windows that open so wide
There's nothing beyond them
And nothing inside

You take off your sandals
You shake out your hair
Your beauty dismantled and worn everywhere

The story's been written
The letter's been sealed you gave me a lily
But now it's a field