Ruth

Coming through the filter
 Sweet upon my lips
 The smoke mollifies the lung
 Into which it rips
 In a sunlit tavern
 In a corner booth
 Sucking stale popcorn
 There I met dear Ruth
 She'd only just lost the baby
 Seven months and a week
 Drank a month of Seagrams
 Kissed me on the cheek
 Never would've been my style
 But I could spot it from a mile
 That it would mean a world of good
 If we got friendly for a while
 Oh, what a dear my dear girl might have been
 In my nine dollar room
 There was nothing on TV
 She asked if she could use my toothbrush
 "It don't bother me"
 "I thank you for the company"
 She most solemnly said
 When I woke the next morning
 She had fallen from the bed
 Quite a sight, I have to say
 Where once had blossomed a bouquet
 Now all but wilting like a leaf
 In the ruthless light of day
 O what a dear my dear girl might have been
 Ruth, sweet girl
 There's no place for you here in my little nine dollar room