“Restaurant”
Lyrics: Laura Tanne.
Tune: Unknown.
The rats scurry over the dishes,
The cockroaches play tag in the bread jar.
Nice designs of grime embroider the greasy soup.
And inside the liquid,
Scraps of meat and potatoes float questioningly:
“Why did that chemist commit suicide?”
The boss says to the cook, “Step lively there—
Keep a little cleaner, keep a little cleaner.”
The cook says to the waitress, “You sleepyhead—
Where’dja go last night—where’dja go last night?”
The waitress says to the dishwasher, “G’wan, you black gal,
Move a little faster, move a little faster.”
Rat traps.
Trap of enmity.
And the lock is Big Change.
And Big Change is where
The clouds drift to a summer day.