50 years ago
In 1972
There was a girl named Hannah May
Only 18 years of youth

She met a handsome boy
He was strong and he was tall
He came up right beside her
And introduced himself as Paul

He asked with certain confidence
Are you free at all next week?
And as she fumbled to say yes
She felt his breath upon her check

So when they did agree,
And a day they finalized
She felt the whole world open up
And a tear came to her eye

She was happy, to be seen
And ready to believe in what he could be

The next week did arrive
Hannah picked her dress
And spent half of her day debating
If Paul would like the color red

She ate a little food
But not enough to spoil the meal
Just the right amount to curb the nerves that she did feel

And as she was applying
Chanel number 5
She heard coming up the driveway
A mustang from 1969

And when she saw the lights
A bit of her released
She could swear she felt a little less weight burdening her feet

She was happy, so was he
And they were ready to believe in what they could be

With menus opened up
And cherry wine upon her lips
Paul reached out his hand and ushered her to take a sip

They talked about their dreams
All those little plans
Opening the doorway
For a ring for her left hand

And as they laughed and listened
She didn’t feel so small
She began to sense a little voice
That was whispering for Paul

And when the check arrived
And they finished up their food
Paul said, listen Hannah
Let me show you a place with a nice view

She was happy, and agreed
Looking at some more time in the city

The soft top of his mustang
Came down to share the night
Looking at the stars above that northern Texas sky

And as the road lay narrow
The view just opened up
Hannah was at ease and she believed the spark of love

When they met their heading
Paul just turned to her and stared
And she thanked him for the setting
As he moved his hand to touch her hair

Only 18 years old
Paul took his other hand
And held back Hannah’s shoulders
So he could do just as he planned

She met him with a scream
But no one was around
And she was overtaken
Until she could not make a sound

Tears destroyed her eyes
Filling wells of shame
And she heard that voice inside her head
Start to curse that boy’s name

And when at last she fainted
And Paul had had his way
She woke up beside her house
Into a cold an empty day

She was angry, and confused
The love she thought she felt turned into innocence to lose

Several weeks had passed
Hannah was in pain
Her cycle was disrupted and she realized she was late

The red dress she had worn
She tore up and released
An echo of that night became a hopeless memory

And she stopped to ponder
The actions she could choose
She was afraid to be a mother
And she felt her life was used

She thought she could do nothing
She was putting on more weight
When she found a group of people
Who said they could rid her of this fate

In a southern Texas house
For $500 dollars flat
She was put on the table
And given shots of this and that

Asleep but woken up
She thought she had her red dress on
But as the moments passed she realized
She was in pain and she was wrong

The people tried to save her
But there was nothing they could do
And when she saw the lights
Her weight was lifted from the room

And life that day it left
Not one body but two
So it was the way of things in 1972

50 years ago
50 years ago