SWEET YOUNG THING 121311 - I PLAY C

James Michael Taylor

SWEET YOUNG THING

He lays out a freshly pressed Arrow
Clean socks and his new underwear
He brushes his teeth with tooth paste
There’s a charge in the air
He thinks about that Sweet Young Thing
And how she trembled, the night before
He breaks out a deodorant soap bar
He bathes and he washes his hair
As he dries off he shivers a little
When he thinks where he’s going from there
And he thinks about that Sweet Young Thing
And how he trembled the night before
His shirt ripples over every muscle
He pulls on his highest-heeled boot
And his heart skips a beat as he buckles his belt
He picks the lint off his suit
And he thinks about that Sweet Young Thing
And what she promised
The night before
His pants feel too tight as he puts out the cat
And turns out the light
The start of the engine sends shivers
Up his spine as he faces the night
And he thinks he loves that Sweet Young Thing
And how they trembled
The night before
He walks to the door and he pauses
He swallows. He fingers his hair
Feels a flush as he touches the knocker
He waits. There’s a sting in the air
He can almost taste that Sweet Young Thing
And he trembles like the night before
His eyes reflect only a door way
And his hopes and his fears they collide
And if you painted a freshly tossed salad
That’s what he would look like inside
And confusion and anger seem to entwine
The way they did, the night before
He swallows. He knocks. This time, harder
In a sweat, he unbuttons his coat
He turns and he heads for the sidewalk
Then he stops. He must leave her a note
And he thinks about that Sweet Young Thing
And how she trembled
The night before
Like oatmeal, his words stick together
In his mind, the clear pictures come hard
His fountain pen shakes out his message
On the back of a fresh business card
And he wants to tell that Sweet Young Thing
It’s alright, and maybe more
His eyes search the mail box
For a place that’s almost out of view
And she found it the flowing Wednesday
And she cried when she read, “I Love you.”
And sometimes he remembers that Sweet Young Thing
And I tremble like the night before…
(c) 2007 Royal T Music