My sister sang waltzing Matilda
All those nights when we couldn’t sleep
And sailing away for Kylamnos
For sponge diving into the deep
There was never a night so darkly
That together we couldn’t see
The torch of Jeanette Isabella
Or the three ships sailing at sea
I want to go through the back allies
The short cut across the blue green
To the morning of my memory
Where the world is both gentle and free.
Down on the corner of Locust and Baltimore
A wannabe Elvis strums a guitar with only three strings
Handing out postcards and pictures from magazines
Shouting “now is the time to believe in your dreams!”
My sister said we lived in a castle
That most others just couldn’t see
Surrounded by a labyrinth
Of foxgloves and ivy and horses with butterfly wings
There was never a sky so cloudy
That together we couldn’t see
The sun peeking over our shoulders
On the sidewalks of Jefferson street
I want to go through the back allies
The short cut across the blue green
To the morning of my memory
Where the world is both gentle and free.