Betting on Benches

This Bench
This home
This Bench is my home
My home for now
For now I stand
I stand on this bench

Why stand not sit?
Well that's just it
The Bet you see
It forces me
To keep my feet well off the ground
To keep my feet off all year round

The Bet I made with Joe
I made so long ago
The rules they were as follows
No one shall leave the Bench
No foot shall touch the ground
The first to break
The first to take a step away
Shall be the one to lose

And up for grabs
His hat and my shoes
His hat I would win
Or my shoes I would lose

That hat
That glorious hat
It shone with blue
It shone so true
So true that none could deny
That none could dismiss
That none could defy
It captivated
It motivated
It drew them in
It inspired
It retired the need for talking
With that hat I could do anything
With that hat I could be king
If ever I were to have a chance
A chance to live in happiness
I needed that hat
That only, just that
I needed that hat to free me from strife
I need that hat to save my life

My shoes
My gorgeous green shoes
I couldn't lose my shoes
My feet had lived there
For many a year
They gave me such flare
And never to fear
Their dance could put in a trance
Anyone who would care to stare
Anyone who was willing to hear
The tapping could always draw them near
The shoes were my joy
The joy of my spirit
And with those shoes I couldn't lose
No I certainly couldn't lose those shoes

So that is why I made the Bet
The Bet that Joe and I made
There was no chance for trade
All or nothing
That was the deal
That was the start
But where would it end

For years we've stayed on these benches
Dug in our trenches
Watched the world pass us by
Listened to them ask us why
For the dream of it all
We're left standing tall
Our futures would fall
For the dream of it all

But I cannot lose
I refuse to lose
No room to choose
To choose to lose
I must stay and Joe must go
I need that hat
I need those shoes

Forever it may take
Forever I will stay
On this Bench
This home
Left all alone
For the dream I made the Bet
And now the Bench is all I get