the harder it rains, the more useless the umbrella
the more you need it,
the more useless the umbrella

gone and blown the other way

dumbest thing you ever did in your life
i've done that all too
one dumb thing leads to another dumb thing
such a looped refrain
some dumb things just go together

one dumb thing
then another dumb thing

walking on the busy sidewalks
of chicago the overheard woman
i was watching
was talking friendly to the man beside her
about something he was not interested in
he walked away from her
midsentence

i went home and never forgot that

7 or 8 years later,
i was walking to work in south lake union
IT guy with the too long hair
caught up to me
and complained about his boss

i didn't know what to say
crossing arms crossed tight
conversation dying at the crosswalk
and he walked on ahead
as my hands looked for pockets

one dumb thing beside another dumb thing
such a looped refrain to keep on playing