The Beat (Apartment Number Three) Original Draft Like a tree Cut down to a stump His heart no longer

gave The buoyant sound of a thump The boys were running in the streets Jumping ships, swinging from string Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump thump. Off the plank! The girls would cry No one ever knew the man inside The sun was shining What a beautiful day To rot inside a Lonely cave His soul cried No one could hear If only he tried being more sincere Maybe then things would be different. Maybe then someone would have known The hands of the clock tick-tocked, tick-tocked The birds were flying The dads were working the moms were calling The kids were laughing The clouds were forming The rain was f a l l i n g

The Beat (Apartment Number Three) Revision 1 Like a tree fading at its trunk, His heart no longer gave the sound of a thump. The boys were running in the streets. Jumping from ships, swinging from string. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Off the plank! The girls would cry. Did you hear about the man inside? The sun was shining; sweat oozed out like sap. A hydrant shot out straight from the cracks. A perfect time, if time could be perfect, to stop it allIt all in its tracks. His soul cried but no one did hear. If only he tried to be more sincere. Maybe then things would be different. Maybe then they would have known. The hands of the clock tick-tocked, tick-tocked The birds were flying The dads were working the moms were calling The kids were laughing The clouds were forming The rain was f a l l i n g

The Beat (Apartment Number Three) Revision 2

Apartment Number Three (Previously titled The Beat) Revision 3 On a one-way street, packed apartments on both sides, little boys jumped from ships and swung from trees. Off the plank! They made the little girls cry. The sun was shining; sweat oozed out like sap. The parents fanned themselves with paper flaps and waited for water to shoot out from the cracks. In the middle of the road, apartment number three, there lived a man that no one had seen. If he cried out, no one had heard. Examiners said it had been weeks since hed spoken a word. The moms called the kids back inside for spaghetti worms and fresh pieces of pie. Rain quickly cooled the streets, but apartment number three remained a mystery.

Apartment Number Three (Previously titled The Beat) Revision 4 On a cobblestone street with apartments on both sides, little boys jump from ships and swing from string. Off the plank! they shout, and the little girls cry. The sun is shining; sweat oozes out like sap. Parents fan themselves with paper flaps and wait for water to shoot out from the cracks. In the middle of the road, apartment number three, there lives a man that no one has seen. If he cries out, no one does hear. Its been weeks since hes shed a tear. The moms call the kids back inside for spaghetti worms and fresh pieces of pie. Cool rain fills the empty streets, but apartment number three remains a mystery