Ballad of Lake Herman Road
By Peter Bray
We've gotta lake, but who's Herman
out here on Lake Herman Road?
There's a reservoir at our back door
out on Lake Herman Road.
I always feel like a pioneer
whenever I'm out here
on Lake Herman Road.
If I'm at the northeast corner of Benicia
and I need to go to Home Depot,
I minimize my carbon footprint
and take Lake Herman Road to Vallejo.
It's like going to Venezuela from Brazil,
but it's always unique out here
on Lake Herman Road.
Between the possums and the thistles,
you'll never move like a missile
out here on Lake Herman Road.
The cows all look like in a book
they've never seen out here
on Lake Herman Road.
It's serene, but I've never seen
a string bean lean or one growing
out here on Lake Herman Road.
Watch out for the curves, the bends,
and the quarry that ends
out here on Lake Herman Road.
The signs all come and go: Slow;
Caution When Flooding; The Road's Shoulders
Will Disappear Here; Raccoon, Toads, Possum,
Livestock and Deer Crossing Here (Where?)
out here on Lake Herman Road.
It's like at the edge of the General Plan,
anyone can understand
why even Zodiac Jack never came back
to Lake Herman Road.
They tar the cracks with squiggly lines
out here on Lake Herman Road.
Even the hawks fly in wiggly lines
out here on Lake Herman Road.
We don't need no big box store
out here on Lake Herman Road.
The hawks don't need discount wines
or their squiggly lines
out here on Lake Herman Road.
If I was a toad out on Lake Herman Road,
I'd head for town quick, see ya around.
It's a frontier out here, come see for yourself.
Whistle when you see the thistles.
Civilization stops everytime
the raindrops collect out here
on Lake Herman Road.
©Peter Bray, 11/5/07 All rights reserved
