Ani Difranco - Providence

Who knew
At this party that i
Would walk in and I’d see you.
I guess now
We could just get drunk
Yeah, that could be our excuse
You could slip
From out of nowhere
I could be there to catch your fall
We could laugh
At ourselves
And the writing that’s on the wall

It’s a narrow margin
Just room enough for regret
In the inch and a half between
Hey, how ya been?
And
Can I kiss you yet?
So we talk, like
Nervous neighbors over a tall fence
True love, but for the lack of providence

But I just got one more
Thing to tell you

’cuz words are vitamins
And life is short
And I know when we get up
To the front office
We’re gonna have to fill out
A full report
And the first question will be
What were you thinking?
And the next question will be
What did you say?
Then they’re gonna check to see
If the answers to one and two
Matched up much
Along the way

In the interest of poetry
And the cowboy movie
That’s you and me
I’m back on the horse now
And I am riding
I am striding so effortlessly
What I mean is
It’s late
Much to late for us
And I’m fixing to go home
With just my conscious
And a bitter sense of irony
As my chaperone

True love, but for the lack of providence.