Crickets are chirping. The water is high. There’s a soft cotton dress on the line. Hang dry. The window’s wide open. African trees. Bent over backwards. In a hurricane breeze. Not a word of goodbye. Not even a note. She’s gone with the man in the. Long black coat. Somebody seen him. Hangin’ around. At the old dance hall. On the outskirts of town. He looked into her eyes. When she stopped him to ask. If he wanted to dance. He had a face like a mask. Somebody said. From the bible he quote. There was dust on the man in the. Long black coat. Preacher was talking. There’s a sermon he gave. Said every man’s conscience. Is vile and deprave. You can not depend on it. To be your guide. When it’s you. Who must keep it satisfied. It ain’t easy to swallow. It sticks in the throat. She gave her heart to the man in the. Long black coat. One two. There are no mistakes in life. Some people say. It’s true sometimes. You can see it that way. People don’t live or die. People just float. She gave her heart to the man in the. Long black coat. There’s smoke on the water. It’s been there since June. Tree trunks uprooted. In the high crescent moon. Hear the pulse. And vibration. And the rumblin’ force. Somebody’s out there. Beating on a dead horse. She never said nothin’. There was nothin’ she wrote. She’s gone with the man in the. Long black coat. She’s gone with the man in the. Long black coat. She’s gone. She’s gone. Gone with the man in the. Long black coat. Gone with the man in the. Long black coat.