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 | Erik Donald France Helen of Texas After meeting you once Middle-aged men fly from their marriages And old men covet you The young try to be hip, suave and worldly Newlywed couples discuss you Rich men try to buy your love Poor men gain new leases on life Trapped women take lovers Teetotalers begin to drink Homebound men begin to travel And phobic Luddites get cellphones and email They make plans, Book tickets Take ships Climb into airplanes And launch recklessly harebrained campaigns They make sudden gestures, mysterious and bizarre offerings Bringing you Junior Mints and Dr. Pepper Pot pies and books Posies and votive candles. They build private shrines to honor your spangled bearing. People who’ve not met you Envy your glittery appeal Your way with words Your shiny glossy lips Your Gypsy hair Your Cajun pallor Your Voodoo eyes Your creamy thighs Your snake charmed life. The ships have launched from Port Arthur The tumbleweeds roll There’s a Mexican standoff at the border And years of upturned lives lay scattered in your wake Cities are burning on the shoreline And you’re just getting out of the harbor Setting sail into the hot new dawn. |