Go ahead and pound me with your tiny fists, Beatrice
Pull at my seams, watch me come unstitched, Beatrice

I heard you coming before I saw you—your jangling wrist, Beatrice
Should’ve gone the other way towards a rattlesnake’s hiss, Beatrice

If only you hadn’t bloomed like a jacaranda tree
If only things were up to me
If only I were a current in the river as it flows
Where I watched you dip your toes
Si ra na na na na na

Of the hundreds of flowers, I can’t tell which is which, Beatrice
But they’ll make you a dress with a vine for a cinch, Beatrice

Tell me is it merely a will o’ the wisp, Beatrice…
To think I could make you less weeping willowish, Beatrice?

If only you hadn’t bloomed like a jacaranda tree
If only things were up to me
If only I were a fish in the river as it bends
Where I watched you slowly wade in
Si ra na na na na na

Have you ever seen a badger and armadillo kiss?
Have you ever watched a sidewinder flail and twitch?
Beatrice

Once when the moon hung low like this, Beatrice
Two tamarind trees bent to touch through the mist, Beatrice

If each love story has an archivist, Beatrice
What will he write of my cowardice, Beatrice?

If only you hadn’t bloomed like a jacaranda tree
If only things were up to me
If only I were the sand of the wide Balsas River
Where I watched you dry off and shiver…
Si ra na na na na na