I clutch the pinstriped umbrella
as I stroll the old long walk.
Sitting on the park bench
a fella of blue eyes and black hair.
He clasps a ticket and whistles
the song of an Irish band.
I pardon myself to have a seat
and his accented gesture allows.
I ask where he is going
and he asks why a gal like myself
would sit with a guy like he.
Gazing into my gold laced compact
I check the paleness of my cheeks.
Shaking his tight gripped hand
his accent calls, ‘Nice to meet you.’
When I’m no longer in his sight
I dab some lipstick on my cheeks.
I twirl and mix the rouge color
as it blends into my pale skin.
Walking into the hospital
I go through the same miserable routine.
Again I stroll the old long walk
where I see the blue eyed fella.
‘May I walk with you?’ he asks
and I ask why a guy like he
would walk with a gal like me.
For a time we were silent
but that didn’t last long
and soon enough I knew it;
I’d fallen in love with a Galway guy.
I wondered about his ticket
and why he missed the train
but soon enough I knew it;
he’d fallen in love with an uptown girl.
We did this every other Wednesday
and each time I grew thinner
and my cheeks grew paler.
One afternoon I left the hospital
And there I saw blue eyes,
he followed me to the sullen building
where I discovered I have tuberculosis
that will soon take me away.
He asks for my hand in marriage
and says we haven’t got long.
So, I kiss the gentleman farewell
and I stroll the old long walk.
Soon I hear his whistling
not too far behind
and I run until my umbrella pirouettes
from my shaky hands.
He catches my fall and cradles my head
and I ask why a guy like he
would love a gal like me.
He kisses my forehead softly
and that’s when I got the last glance
of my Galway guy.