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| The lovely van! Here it was taking us to a party! |
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| Yes, that's the back door falling apart. What fun! |
And cockroaches start crawling
And we find ourselves far from our home,
We ladies don’t worry
or attempt to hurry
Because we know that wherever we roam--
The Singles' Van will find us
Collect and combine us
Packed onto leather-torn seats,
With boxes and umbrellas
And bilums* (but rarely fellas,
since its ladies who can’t be on streets**).
It’s rickety and rusty,
Holey and musty,
And the doors are falling apart.
We hang onto handles
And bounce in our sandals
And cheer for on-the-hill starts!
Despite mud on our skirts
(and jarred spine- and head-hurts)
Our delight for the Van does abound!
It’s a service so faithful
We are ever so grateful
To always come home safe and sound!
*A bilum is the traditional string bag of Papua New Guinea.
**Women aren't advised to walk around after dark without a male escort, so when we want to return home after an evening out in Ukarumpa, the Singles' Van is the transport of choice :)
