The Grocer's Broom

The grocer's broom, back and forth
 Glides across the warn wooden floor
 He stirs the dust of the day
 Counts the change before closing the drawer
 Thirty years out the door
 Because the landlord wanted five hundred more
 Some stop by the store
 Just to see if he's doing OK
 It's a crime, it's a shame
 This old neighborhood won't be the same
 You could take a lazy cruise
 Over five thousand fathoms of blue
 To pass those idle days
 I suppose I've worked enough for one life anyway
 I've earned these idle eays
 He shuts the light, says goodnight
 Makes his way up the wide boulevard
 He stops to talk - farethewell, take good care
 It's a beautiful night
 High above, a million stars
 The city blocks seem like five million more
 Than a few hundred yards
 He climbs the stoop, finds the key
 And passes into the dark living-room
 He sees the old sunken chair
 Where silence sits playing her flute
 He finds the tune, he hums along
 She will teach him her five hundred songs
 And they'll pass ...