That love was meant for Beauty Queens
Were spent on one more beautiful,
At seventeen I learned the truth
And those of us with ravaged faces
Lacking in the social graces,
Desperately remained at home,
Inventing lovers on the phone,
Who called to say “come dance with me”
And murmured vague obscenities
It isn’t all it seems at seventeen
A brown-eyed-girl in hand-rne-downs
Whose name I never could pronounce
Said “Pity, please the ones who serve”,
They only get what they deserve.
And the rich relation hometown queen
Marries into what she needs,
With a guarantee of company
And Haven for the elderly
Remember those who win the game,
Lose the love they sought to gain
Inept ventures of quality and dubious
integrity
The small town eyes will agape
At you in dull surprise
When payment due exceeds accounts received
At seventeen
For those of us who knew the pain
Of Valentines that never carne
And those who names were never called
When choosing sides for basketball
It was long ago and far away
The world was younger than today
Dreams were all they gave for free
The ugly duckling girls like me
We all played the game and when we dared
To
cheat ourselves at solitaire
Inventing lovers on the phone,
Repenting other lives unknown
That call and say “Come dance with me”
And murmur vague obscenities at ugly girls
like me
At seventeen, at seventeen!