Love and Death
it's a long climb sister
it's a long climb brother
it will be a long climb to
Heaven
unless we learn to love one
another
Marty Schoendienst stood by the piano
the slick fingers of his right hand greasing the ivory
two octaves above middle c
and he stood like that for maybe an hour
maybe more
until finally Louise Feldstone came floating
down the stairs
floating on a sea of crinolines
beneath her grandmother's ivory wedding dress
highlighted so daintily
by a choker of rubies and sapphires
and just as she reached the bottom
and took a sharp turn into the parlour
she saw Marty at the piano
with a gun hanging from his left fist
and before she could blink in amazement
before her bright red lips
could even whisper, "Stop"
she saw the barrel light up
and felt the cold killing whisk
of only the first shot
it's a long climb sister
it's a long climb brother
it will be a long climb to
Heaven
unless we learn to love one
another
someone died tonight
but i guess it wasn't you
and i'm pretty sure it wasn't me
but there's the buzz of police cars
everywhere outside
yellow jackets chewing through the timbre
of some late-night ragtime blues
gnawing like a migraine
at a simple song
telling a sad story
under a jazzy overlay
the downbeat insistent
and still echoing through the house
still a white-hot melody bleeding
from the pursed violaceous lips
of a chocolate-coloured woman
with a sarong wrapped indiscreetly
over her thick thighs
oozing out from beneath her thick belly
full of lead
and still she sings
through the forever hallways of time
a sad requiem with a sadder rhyme
"Oh, sweet baby, bring that song home to me
"Oh, sweet honeychile, be my Jesus and set me free"
it's a long climb sister
it's a long climb brother
it will be a long climb to
Heaven
unless we learn to love one
another
Louise Feldstone's wedding was postponed
pretty much indefinitely
but her funeral was held
almost right away
and a whole lot of folks showed up
even though not many wanted to stay
but at the trial of Marty Schoendienst
they lined up for hours and hours
just to see that slick gun-toting lover
who fired the fatal shot
and turned Miss Louise's future
into just another funeral plot
until one day as the sun began to wane
there was one helluva commotion
in the gloom of the courthouse light
when Louise's memaw reached out
with an especially long cane
of solid hickory or ash
that found its way through the thick air
of retribution and came
down with a crash
to smash Marty's head in two
just before the jury
shuffled in from the back
with guilty on their minds
and a five-year sentence scrawled
on a spiral notepad
and some said justice was thwarted that day
while others were heard to say
that Marty got what he deserved
and would burn through eternity
for the murder of Louise Feldstone
be it first or second degree
it's a long climb sister
it's a long climb brother
it will be a long climb to
Heaven
unless we learn to love one
another
if i had a penny
i'd pull it from my pocket
and toss it on the bed
between your legs where
the sheets are threadbare
and smell like mustard
i'd even up the ante
and toss you a couple of bills
maybe a couple of Andrew Jackson's
if only you would tell me
what's on your mind
when you roll over in the night
and murmur another man's name
when you tumble over or under me
this way or that
flip me or dip me
right up to the climactic final scene
only to leave me squirming for delight
in the theatre of passion
as you skip out the back EXIT
skip out just before the hero dies
and collapses stage-right
and in that silent moment of your leaving
all i can hear is your raspy voice
moaning and mumbling
"It's just not the same"
it's a long climb sister
it's a long climb brother
it will be a long climb to
Heaven
unless we learn to love one
another
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