Fat-Free Condensed Cream

i
Fate screeched out her disdain
Our car broke down again
Others rush past us
Shiny, new, quick as lust
A hundred and eighty degrees
Between struggle and ease
Between skim milk and cream
Think you could give me
Guilt-free assistance
Not haughty resistance
If I simply said please

Didn’t think so

ii
Hate to quit work just ‘cause of the car
But it breaks down when driven too far
The new boss obviously won’t mind
That I’m late ‘cause I can’t find a ride
A hundred and eighty degrees
Between struggle and ease
Between skim milk and cream
Think you could give me
Guilt-free assistance
Not haughty resistance
If I simply said please

Didn’t think so

iii
Filled up the tank with some government cheese
Kids seem to like it ‘cause it sticks in their teeth
They don’t know any better and that makes it okay
By the time that they do, their wallet gets the say
A hundred and eighty degrees
Between struggle and ease
Between skim milk and cream
Think you could give me
Guilt-free assistance
Not haughty resistance
If I simply said please

Didn’t think so

iii
Can’t think of kids just yet
Can’t pay for the room to let
And since we’re not still in our teens
Charity is unhealthily lean
A hundred and eighty degrees
Between struggle and ease
Between skim milk and cream
Think you could give me
Guilt-free assistance
Not haughty resistance
If I simply said please

Didn’t think so

iv
Burdens we bear have turned us into burdens
Don’t know how to appease all of our wardens
We’ve got contradicting appointments
And no volunteers to accommodate our arrangements
A hundred and eighty degrees
Between struggle and ease
Between skim milk and cream
Think you could give me
Guilt-free assistance
Not haughty resistance
If I simply said please

Didn’t think so

v
Excuses on their side, excuses on our side
We’ll meet you halfway soon as we get a ride
Skim milk means the rich cream gets skimmed
Can’t free the fat without getting trimmed
A hundred and eighty degrees
Between struggle and ease
Between skim milk and cream
Think you could give me
Guilt-free assistance
Not haughty resistance
If I simply said please

Didn’t think so

~RMKS, May 24, 2004