when Betty called him Al

Although Paul Simon’s song

was just about to play

We closed the door behind

our backs – and walked away

into the drizzly rain.

Perhaps it was right then

that I could cease to look

for reasons that would justify

my presence in your life,

and just be there instead.

Perhaps it was right then

that I could find in you,

My friend, my long-lost pal,

as Al can call her Betty

and Betty calls him Al.