I drew a heart
With an arrow on her sneaker
Ballpoint initials
Were still a secret
She braided my hair
Down my back when I'd meet her
Under the culvert
Our toes in the water
We read about a women
Shaved her head for the service
No bulge in her pants
Must have made the men nervous
They strapped her down right
Licked her cheeks
And they hurt her
Chelsea, is this
The way we go under?
And now she's gone
How is she gone?
They wouldn't let me have her
They couldn't know how I loved her
Chelsea grew angry
And thin like worn leather
She pierced both her lips
And she spit at the teachers
"You assholes don't know
How those other girls treat me
Shoot gum in my hair
They carved 'dyke' on my chair"
Down south the professors
Remain built of potential
They fed my right ear
Scratched the left out as evil
I met a young man
Boring and gentle
He dug me a koi pond
Menorah on the mantle
And now she's gone
How is she gone?
They wouldn't let me have her
They couldn't know how I loved her
Now I'm another
Gray with arthritis
I drive by the culverts
I drown by my memories
I think of her hands
And her love
And her anger
Chelsea, is this
The way we stay under?
And now you're gone
How are you gone?
They wouldn't let me have you
They couldn't know how I loved her