Once On This Island
Some Girls
[DANIEL]
Some girls take hours
To paint every perfect nail
Fragrant as flowers
All powdered and prim and pale;
But you are as wild as
That wind-blown tree
As dark and as deep as
The midnight sea
While they’re busy dressing
You lie here warm and bold
Some girls you picture
Some you hold
Some girls take courses
At all the best schools in France
Riding their horses
And learning their modern dance
They’re clever and cultured
And worldly-wise
But you see the world through
A child’s wide eyes
While their dreams are grand ones
You want what’s just in reach
Some girls you learn from
Some you teach
You are not small talk or shiny cars
Or mirrors or French cologne
You are the river, the moon, the stars:
You’re no one else I’ve known...
Some girls take pleasure
In buying a fine trousseau
Counting each treasure
And tying each tiny bow
They fold up their futures
With perfumed hands
While you face the future
With no demands
Some girls expect things
Others think nothing of
Some girls you marry
Some you love