Surprised from Latecomer by Meghan Hayes

SURPRISED
© 2025 Meghan Hayes

On a Friday a July day at the swimming pool
LA’s skies were bruised
We left my sister with mom’s new mister
Oh the seventies were cruel
If you didn’t know Sis you’d never notice anything
She barely missed a beat
A twisted tube top a melted bomb pop
The smell from the back seat

You’d be surprised how much is left
When everything is gone
It’s nothing you can touch
It’s nothing you can own
The catch of a breath after tears
Set on repeat in your ears
Set on repeat in your ears

Fiery canyons make bad companions, momma passed a few
Rough habits down the line
To her younger version, eyes averted
Sis watched one cloud creep by
She’d been trained not to fight

We were brutally lonely
Sunsets bled onto the dawn
Every room in that house was loaded
With no safety on

Ends get started ships get boarded.
Momma bleached the car, then beat my sister blue
Months of silence and deafening signs that a baby’s due
Cops found Sis face down in the pool

You’d be surprised how much is right
When everything is wrong
I keep falling out of touch
I’ll still be falling when I’m gone
Gardenias crushed on the porch
There’ll be no settling up the score
There will be no settling of this score

• AAA
• Americana
• Rock
• indie folk
• lyrics
• roots rock
• Nashville