The Ballad of Banana and the Big Yellow House

The bursting fields of the prairie
Feed every man and mouse
And all who eat the grain and meat
Sleep it off in the big yellow house.

If you pass through Bloomington
Wanting roof or roots or rue
Find Ann Banan on Fess Ave
And tell her Doug or the wind sent you.

You'll find the softest couches,
And dark wood holds the walls
Warm blankets, floors and company
Where every renegade calls.

There's grouchy teens, full of beans
And mischievous kids next door.
There's college kids around the block-
Who knows what they're there for.

There's bread and cheese in the kitchen
And with luck a tomato or two
Take your sandwich to the front porch swing
And rest up fro and to.

Watch a movie with Banana,
And talk the whole way through
You can watch the same one
The next night, as if it were new.

All the gold in Indiana

As lucky hitch-hikers found

Are the yellow house and Annie

Shining after they've burnt down.

Happy birthday, Bananie!