AFTER HOURS

you'll never know the hour when the deathly finger strikes
it very rarely happens at a time when you may like

the same thing can be said about the finding of true love
its like a strike of lightning coming from the skies above

so, what's the odds, i ask you, with a sense of some dismay
that the finger and the lightning strike you on a single day

my given game is morton though close friends just call me mort
my love life was in shambles so i tried a last resort

i'd joined a dating service fishing for a gal to catch
and there was one that i had found that seemed a perfect match

vivian was lovely and we shared a lot of likes
reading, bowling, movies, camping out and taking hikes

so last november second we agreed at last to meet
at a nice italian restaurant that had opened down the street

we liked each other from the start, we shared some bread and wine
the conversation flowed like we'd been friends for quite some time

i thought "this is the soul mate that i've always yearned to meet"
we finished up our supper and we walked into the street

the day had started rainy and it ended in deluge
from the corner of my eye i noticed something fast and huge

a bus careening down the road with brakes that must have failed
while holding hands and running, sadly, both of us were nailed

we'd planned to visit central park and take a carriage ride
instead it was an ambulance that we were pushed inside

we hung on for a moment but at last we lost our will
and as we drew our final breaths, the screaming siren stilled

my consciousness recovered and i noticed with surprise
my vivian returned my gaze with sad but peaceful eyes

"are we dead ?" she softly asked me, "yes we are", i then replied
"but i guess the act of holding hands has left our spirits tied"

now death can be a scary thing if one is left alone
but in our case it seemed as if some mercy had been shown

it all seemed quite unreal except the contact of our hands
we held tightly to each other as we walked this foreign land

we never really knew if some oasis we would find
and so we wandered aimlessly through misty fields, so blind

now just how long we've been here is most difficult to gauge
we've traded our life stories, right up to that final page

but our stories have not ended, though our life on earth is through
we have many roads to travel and have many things to do

and our love continues growing though we've drawn our final breaths
the love i searched for all my life is with me after death

so though our lives may leave us, love that's true will never die
and that's the way it happened for sweet vivian and i

although when i had life, no thoughts of heaven did occur
i now know there's a heaven cause i'm waking there with her