The Shams Follow

she sat at the bar with one leg propped up on the bar stool
separating her from him
she was drinking margaritas and she'd long since reached the point
where she could get one down
and not disturb
the salt around the rim
she had not quite caught his name
though he seemed much less like a stranger as the evening passed
she was trying hard to answer a tough question he was sure
was not the one that he had asked

"i had completely lost the urge to bite my nails
until the night before i married him
then my preacher told me all that lay in store from there on in
and come to think of it
i haven't had a manicure since then
see my hands if i can stop the shaking long enough to show you
let me just put down my glass i'm gripping hard
so that i won't let go
you see both of my hands
my wedding band
and you see me
it's been a long time since i thought about the way my life is going
and how i have changed
but bad habits have a nasty way of making you believe
that everything you know is still the same
see my hands if i can stop the shaking long enough to show you
let me just put down my glass
i'm gripping hard
so that i won't let go
you see both of my hands
my wedding band
and you see me
you see me."