I learned the truth at seventeen
That love was meant for beauty queens
with clear skinned smiles
Who married young and then retired
The valentines I never knew
The Fri day nights charades of youth
Were spent on one more beautiful
At seventeen I learned the truth
And those of us with ravaged faces
Lacking in the social graces
Desperately remained at home
Inventing lovers on the phone
Who called to say "Come dance with me"
And murmured vague obscenities
A brown eyed girl in hand-me-downs
Whose name I never could pronounce
Said, "Pity, please, the ones who serve
They only get what they deserve"
And the rich relationed hometown queen
Mar ries into what she needs
With a guarantee of company
And ha ven for the elderly
To those of us who knew the pain
Of va lentines that never came
And those whose names were never called
It was long ago and far away
The world was younger than today
When dreams were all they gave for free
To ugly duckling girls like
We all play the game, and when we dare
To cheat ourselves at solitaire
Inventing lovers on the phone
Repenting other lives unknown
They call and say, "Come dance with me"
And murmur vague obscenities
