The Person Who Walks Beside the Dignitary (Escort)

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse 1]
Mrs. Patterson, I read in my notebook last night,
The word is escort, from Italian scorta, 1570s,
French escorte, a guard for the important ones.
Sir Walter Raleigh, 1552 to 1618, age thirty-four,
Escorted Queen Elizabeth with his cloak over a puddle.
That's what I'll do for you on this gravel path.
The Schoolhouse Path, 8:15 AM, fourteen degrees Celsius,
Wind from the ocean, sharp like a reminder.

[Chorus]
I'll walk beside you, Mrs. Patterson,
My notebook under my arm, pencil ready.
Escort means protect, like a hanger sword,
Ornate and tangled, from James Laver's book, 1969.
Not amused? Your parasol is crooked,
Black and faded, handle like a question.
Crunch of gravel, each step a fact.

[Verse 2]
Smell the sea air, tangy with your wool coat's must,
Gull cries distant, like laughter held back.
I open the schoolhouse door, creak of old wood,
You brush past, sniff sharp as chalk dust.
Escort is duty, no more, no less.
From Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, 1989.
Why the silence? Your eyes say something else.

[Bridge]
No soldiers here on Point Nemo,
Just me, Kiki, with my vocabulary list.
Red circle around escort, innocent as the path's bend.
That wind-bent tree watches, impartial.

[Verse 3]
If there's a puddle, I'll throw my jacket,
Like Raleigh did in 1586, British Library letters.
But the path is dry, just gravel crunching,
Under thin-soled shoes, cold biting cheeks.
Mrs. Patterson, am I your guard today?
Or just a boy with too many words.

[Outro]
Escort complete, door closed behind.
Notebook open, another word to learn.