THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME

I must have left my house at eight, Because I always do My train, I'm certain, Left the station just when it was due I must have read the morning paper going into town And having gotten through the editorial, No doubt I must have frowned I must have made my desk around a quarter after nine With letters to be read, And heaps of papers waiting to be signed I must have gone to lunch at half past twelve or so The usual place, the usual bunch And still on top of this, I'm pretty sure it must have rained The day before you came I must have lit my seventh cigarette at half past two And at the time I never even noticed I was blue I must have kept on dragging, Through the business of the day Without really knowing anything, I hid a part of me away At five I must have left, There's no exception to the rule A matter of routine, I've done it ever since I finished school The train back home again Undoubtedly I must have read the evening paper then Oh yes, I'm sure my life was well within its usual frame The day before you came I must have opened my front door at eight o'clock or so And stopped along the way, To buy some Chinese food to go I'm sure I had my dinner watching something on TV There's not, I think, a single episode of Dallas that I didn't see I must have gone to bed around a quarter after ten I need a lot of sleep, and so I like to be in bed by then I must have read a while The latest one by Marilyn French, Or something in that style It's funny, but I had no sense of living without aim The day before you came And turning out the light I must have yawned, And cuddled up for yet another night And ratting on the roof, I must have heard the sound of rain The day before you came