Molly Sweeney Swollen
Rings
Swollen fingers
And tight red marks linger and throb
Blood hobbles around in my veins
I find it a shame
That this scene's just a game
That the Jacks and the Jills
Just try to make names for themselves
Something lusty
Dripping with musk
Something soon to be dusty
And spotted with rust
Well, the present's for selling
And the past is for dwelling
And the future's like fire
First the smoke starts a-swelling
I got swollen fingers that play on some strings
Bound up with rings that all signify things
And the greatest of recompense
In all of this diffidence
Drains from my hands as it swells
In my brain
Please tell the new mothers
Don't stifle your children
Don't smother their dreams
Make them trifles, like I would
I step on their feelings sometimes
So that I can feel good
About what I gave up for nothing
And it takes love to do that
It takes love away from you
It takes love, trusts it to your hand
And lets you take it for granted
I got swollen fingers that play on some strings
Bound up with rings that all signify things
And the greatest of recompense
In all of this diffidence
Drains from my hands as it swells
In my brain