Hungry as she was for fame
she never thought they’d change
her name or dress her up
in homely cloth and make
her say those scripted jokes.
She never thought she’d have to ride
the waves of heat all summer long
to hawk the barn dance radio
in close school halls and fairground tents.
No one said she’d bear alone
the blues, the cramps, the damp-filled nights,
the silhouettes on hotel walls
where her name in secret
she would write in letters of bright gold.
She couldn’t know the sacrifice
to sing the lonely songs she loved
would be rough travel with quarrelsome
men who never guessed her given name
and didn’t give a damn anyway.