The Handsome Family
Caterpillars
Silvia was struck by lightning
While reading in bed one night
She left the windows open
And the storm caught her by surprise
For a day she laid here still as a stone
Clipped to pumps and tubes
Then out her window the street lights flashed
And at last, her fingers moved

She awoke to a cacophony of electric radio waves
Pulsing rays of energy falling from outer space

High and swaying towers
Down in basements full of dust
She could not escape the static
Or the 60 cycle hum
She wore dark, tinted spectacles
Several fur-lined capes
3 pairs of velvet gloves
A veil of dotted Swiss

But all the earth's vibrations
Still pounded through her ears
So she packed a steamer trunk
And flew a prop plane to Belize
From there a log raft took her
Over raging waterfalls
Deep within uncharted jungle
Where giant caterpillars crawl
The spun their silk around her
A cocoon between the trees
And still she hangs there swinging
Deep within the dripping leafs

Keeping time with every rumble
Every quiver of the earth
And she slowly changes shape
With the turning of the world