When Shall We Meet?

[Jervis Pendleton]
Dear Ms Abbott
I put pen to paper
With some trepidation
But with a feeling after your last letter
That I really do owe you
Some sort of response

I want to write you back
But I don't know what to say
How can I explain
That I'm not really...
Old?

And I'm not at all
The man that you imagine
No, I'm not at all
The man you would expect
But, Jerusha
Would you object?

Of course I write in contravention
Of my own rules of engagement
Which forbid any sort of communication
From me to you
But only last month I was guilty
Of sending you a bouquet of flowers
So perhaps the damage is already done

And it's getting very hard
To abstain from a response
Especially for a man who loves to correspond
For I long to interject my observations
I'm bursting with opinions and advice
But, Jerusha
Would they suffice?

I shall motor down to the college
One of these afternoons
And introduce myself
But I must warn you
I'm not good at friendship
I'm not good at attachment
Or family
Or commitment
I roundly despise my relations
You're acquainted already with Julia
Whom I blame for my low expectations

Jerusha

So perhaps it isn't wise
To reveal myself just yet
Why not meet you first
As the man I really am?

Why not introduce myself
As Uncle Jervis?
Daddy just for now
Remains discrete

Oh, Jerusha
So, Jerusha
Jerusha
How shall we meet?