AS ROOTS ARE ...

AS ROOTS ARE / AS ROOTS WERE /
WE USED TO BUILD

She got herself a nosebleed and it would
not stop. We took her to the hospital
and they said she’d need a transfusion
real soon and that’d cost fifty dollars.
That nosebleed stopped just like that.

Anyway we were building a house and the house
was almost finished when the contractor
got killed in a car crash and he didn’t
have the money and it was never finished.
We used to do stupid things. We used to build.

During the war we used to get Harvards
and make them return at the Rosemary School.
That was where they’d make their turns and
go back to Clairesholm or Pierce. After the price
dropped we found other ways to make our money.


She got herself a nosebleed and
It would not stop. W e took her to
The hospital and they said she’d
Need a transfusion real soon
And that’d cost fifty dollars.
Her nosebleed stopped just like that.

Anyway we were building a house
And the house was nearly finished when
The contractor got killed in a car
Crash. He didn’t have the money
And the house was never finished.
We used to do stupid things
We used to build.

During the war we used to snare
Magpies with our old bootlaces.
We’d take them to Rosemary and trade
The feet to the Ministry for sugar.
We sold the sugar to the Blackfeet.
Because they had cash and we didn’t.

Rosemary was where they’d make their turns
And go back to Clairesholm or Pierce. The price
Dropped when the war was over, and we
found other ways to make our money.