it's not for you

when you sit down to eat

are you in bare feet

in the awful cold?

or dreaming on a summer day,

growing old,

holding friends

close to your heart

simply in no hurry to depart

or wishing for a fresh start?

well, there's so much more to say

and more to believe:

you can have your fortune

hiding up your sleeve

on the minute 

on the hour

pulling a reluctant weed,

planting a lovely flower;

or perhaps you're on the edge

with a bad case of vertigo,

losing balance,

no safe place to go,

and you're dressing well

or in tattered rags,

belly taut

or with one that sags.

well, look around

and take the grand tour

witnessing

the many desperate poor

on the bottom of their boat

with no hope

that they'll ever float,

and it's long after midnight

when you shine your shoes

and it's possible to hear

them singing the blues,

but it's not for you;

no, it's not for you

so what will you do

when they come wandering thru?

on the bottom of their boat

with no hope

that they'll ever float.