Handball Wall

They painted over the handball wall They covered every crooked call We made peace by playing longer We made enemies till tea They painted over the handball wall The blank paint kept the sound The chalk was dried up in the well When two could spin a tale to tell I read the gray between the numbers I watched the slanted letters swell The boys who could not match the score Had bested us in spelling wars Their families looked on in laughter While mine scowled from the car The brown wall kept us warm The blank wall kept the sound They painted over the handball wall They covered every crooked call We made peace by playing longer We made enemies till tea They painted over the handball wall The blank paint kept the sound The family was afraid to see The lawyer that they'd hired for me I told the truth until they asked it "Was it your side or was it mine?" I stepped away and had a drink As neighbors raised the bride-to-be I watched the slanted letters swelling Like water up a spring The brown wall kept us warm The blank wall kept the sound They painted over the handball wall They covered every crooked call We made peace by playing longer We made enemies till tea They painted over the handball wall The blank paint kept the sound