Sally Sells Sea Shells

Sally's sitting on the swing set on Sunday

Just swinging back and forth and back and forth

She's only six years old, but she knows she knows everything

Because she knows that, contrary to popular belief, Santa Claus does exist

And contrary to what her sister Susan believes she knows that Mommy and Daddy are always right

And she knows that if she swings hard enough she can fly

Up

into the sky

Away from all the screaming

She's alone now

Just swinging

Susan's off in the bushes with her boyfriend

Looking for the rabbits

So she's swinging and swinging

So that she can fly up into the sky

Away from the screaming

And Daddy hitting Mommy

Because she knows that he's always right, but he's not always kind

And that's how she knows that, contrary to popular belief, her dad can't be Santa Claus

Now she's swinging and her feet are melting into the sunset and the earth is spinning sideways

And she knows that if she swings hard enough she can fly

All the way to the North Pole

She can feel her body lifting and she knows that she's gonna have to let go

So she closes her eyes and sees the world with Santa Claus

Where Mommy and Daddy are friends and Susan doesn't leave her for the rabbits in the bushes

She lets go

And she's flying

And the North Pole is only a couple of minutes away

And she just has to think about it hard enough.

But she opens her eyes

And as the sunset melts into the earth

She feels herself

Falling

And as she feels herself start to melt into the playground cement she hears Sally's scream

And for a moment she smiles, because she knows she'll never have to hear it again.