Billy had never believed
Mary Ann
when she said she was going away,
to Egypt or Kansas,
or someplace unheard of,
where Billy couldn't go.

When her daddy got transferred,
she would be gone,
and there was nothing Billy could do.

But Billy had decided he'd try anyway.
Every time there was a new "For Sale" sign
he'd pull it up,
and throw it somewhere
it could never be found.
He'd run through the yard screaming
to scare the lookers away.
He would flatten the tires
on the moving van - somehow.
He would even ask them not to go.

Billy sat on the porch
staring into the night,
his hands propped up by his knees,
wondering if Mary Ann would write him
from around the world?
Would she ever think about him?
Would she even remember
who Billy Balinski was?