The Alligator
I think it was December or mid-November
The sun was looking down on me like a glowing ember
I think it was a Thursday, well, I can’t remember
All I know it was the winter of summer weather
I met an old man with a metal detector
He said his name was Stan, but I heard it was Hector
He was known around town as The Everglade Protector
And he watched over the cities and all the sectors
He told me stories of them droppin' bombs
And of his old lady who had dropped him one
I could tell that he loved her though she was gone
Because he spoke of her so fondly and he smiled upon
He said “do you have the time?”
“It’s a quarter to nine”
“Well, I must be getting on’,
I’ve got to go cross-town,
Towards the seagulls sound, and the freighters,
I must meet the alligator”
I said “alright, man, whatever you say, and I was on my way”
And the wind was blowing sweet warm thoughts across my mind
I was feeling like painting but there were no paints to find
And I’m not really a painter
But as I looked to the sky, I saw a pelican go circling by
He was frozen with his wings held tightly by his side
And with a proud look in his serious eyes
He said, “my son, you’ve got to take a picture of life”
And leave it for the others to remember you by
I said I’ll try but I’m not qualified
He then saluted me, and he waved me goodbye
So I got down on my knees in the sand
And I tried to cry
Because of those words that I recognized
I recognized
So I got down on the beach with my sandy feet
And I pulled my cell phone out from underneath me
I called up Reverend B
And to my disbelief he had the same experience back in New Jersey
He was testing pavement down by Mount Airy
And was stopped in his tracks by the sweet song of a canary
That’s when I knew we had this job to do
That’s the first time I knew we had this job to do