Half-Way There

He's only half-way there,
he's only half-way there.
Told me my fortune was enough for me -
that I would rather be
lying lonely in the houses
than stand along the river-side,
wearing nothing but the ruby
bequeathed to me by him when he died.

He's only half-way there,
he's only half-way there.
If I hadn't disappeared
in spring that year
I'd have sent him home again.

He's only half-way there,
he's only half-way there.
A large courtege of mourners all agree
that it was really he-
huddled in a blanket,
chewing on a ball-point pen.
They stood him up against the wall
& set him off again
around the karmic wheel...big deal -
you can't get me that way.
I read between the lines
of the notice in the Times
& this is what they say:
He's only half-way there,
He's only half-way there,
half-way there.