Martha's Song

In these days the leaves have withered
And daylight spins a shorter line
Years ago we'd gather wood
But this older neighborhood
Is like the season, in decline

A young couple moved in next door in October
He was humming some old song
From here behind our kitchen shade
I watched every trip she made
For she was eight months along

And oh, it was long ago
Only Syl and I still know
When we first moved into our home
I was barely showing and he was young and strong

If they knew how much I watch them
They'd probably pull their shades
To see them as they come and go
There's parts of them I've come to know
It's a little like charades

One day she stopped hush in the driveway
And proudly pulled his hand beneath her coat
Like a tiny doorbell, going off inside
I remember Syl's hand and my precious sense of pride

But oh, that was long ago
Only Syl and I still know
And oh, the precious sense of hope
When the first cry of your newborn child
Goes ringing through your home

So I went to pay a visit
One morning when I was feeling spry
She told me as we sat alone
Of plans to have the babe at home
But she really didn't need to tell me why

Thank God, in my day they used no needles
To take away that feeling of new life
And brother, you can strike me dead
Before I'd think to sell our bed
Where they were conceived was where they were born

But oh, that was long ago
When midwives still came to your home
Now where's that precious sense of hope?
Hidden like that first cry
Behind hospital walls

Maybe how that car pulled up this morning
Or maybe how these special shades of fall
Echoed down my whisper well
But somehow this morning I could tell
That it was not a social call

And as they moved from window to window
I watched their preparations and their talk
The excitement almost brought me tears
It's been nearly fifty years
Since there was a birth on this old block

And oh, that was long ago
Only Syl and I still know
Each year turns under with the plow
Our oldest boy has raised his own
And he's a granddad now

As they gathered by the bedside
The sun broke through the autumn sky so strong
Their window blinded me with glare
As if to tell me not to stare
But so clearly you could hear her labor song

And as her resting times grew shorter
I thought to run and see if Syl was near
He's standing in the door, all right
Listening with all his might
As the first cry from that first breath rose so dear

And oh,, not an hour ago
Our eyes still feel the overflow
And oh, the precious sense of hope
When the first cry from that newborn babe
Went ringing through our home