If I had known that rusty green Was the color of the underdeveloped man I never would have got in that Old ’57 International Truck The one with the missing headlight
That was Uncle Woody’s truck And he rode it all over the place But never took it to work Just those dark places Where the underdeveloped men go
I was sitting in the middle and My little brother was hanging out the window We were laughing at Uncle Woody He was laughing and throwing bottles Out of the International Truck Amber glass shatters in the road All that glass looking like jewels to me
I was a pretty girl he said Wouldn’t a pretty girl like me want to sit in his lap and drink from the bottle too? Now that I was done with the first grade We could have lots of fun all summer And he would give me candy Special candy in the shed
I didn’t know then that the green and amber Flecks in uncle’s eyes were the gleemings of The underdeveloped man
Those are the men who like to put Socks over kittens’ heads Just to watch them squirm Who throw frogs off the roof So we can hear the splat they make These are the men who don’t have Candy in the shed Just pain and like to watch us cry
We were riding in the International Truck The one with the missing headlight And my brother started to scream Bees were buzzing around the cab They were buzzing around the amber bottles And the sticky stuff on the floor My brother was screaming because A bee had gone into his pants and was Stinging him
He opened the door of the International Truck And even though we were still moving, Jumped out.
Uncle Woody laughed and I laughed too I didn’t want anyone to think I didn’t Know the joke My brother was crying And he pulled down his pants To let the bees out
Uncle Woody tooted and hooted and threw another bottle Amber jewels scattered all over the road All over my brother My brother’s face was red with anger Red with blood Everything was red and amber and green
After that no one spoke No one had candy No one hung out the window Uncle Woody pulled on his bottle and We drove around in the International Truck The one with the missing headlight The green truck that never went to work The truck that smelled like hot dashboard Beer, blood, And dead bees.
The vehicle of the underdeveloped man.