Accommodation

by Clive James and Pete Atkin

Now listen Jack
That note you sent
It got there late
Long after she already went
There's no one there to send that letter back

Not one fool thing
The cupboard's bare
the place is clean
There's nothing in there but the air
She took the curtains, rail, rod and ring

She paid the bills
She stopped the milk
Rolled up the rugs
And packed her cotton gear and silk
And whipped the Penguins off the windowsills

She took it all
Don't kid yourself she left a trace
Of how she looked there, walking, lying
So damned happy she was dying

The kitchen shelves
Are shadows of their former selves
The floorboards line up to face the wall
A sharper man could hear the sunlight fall

Now listen Jack
That note you sent
It got there late

Long after she already went
It was a good place
But it needed two to pay the rent