the short version

there's a hole in the sky
and i put my finger up there
and it went inside the hole
and at that moment i lost my finger
but found myself
swinging over a fresh water creek
holding onto a braided rope with
everything i had
minus the finger, of course,
and it didn't seem to matter that
the day might be long or short
as long as the water was deep where i fell into it
and that's the short version
of a story about a favorite dog and a man
who walked the woods with an imperfect eye.

my first rodeo

i went to my first rodeo
where i saw tough cowgirls riding the big red bulls
near the meandering river down in old San Antonio
where often there are no official rules
and it was a hot and dusty day
i kept drinking cold Mexican beer
i heard a celebration of curious holiday noise
filled with apparently good cheer
loud parades of merry makers some riding wild horses
some riding each other
they knew i was an outsider from a cold northern shore
but i didn't have to travel undercover
they kept showing me ever more
and there appeared an old man wearing gold trimmed black pants
who carried a big busty 12 string guitar
i watched him work his way around the crowded tables
of a fancy hotel bar
he wore a giant's hat which covered his eyes and his head
when he sang his songs it was hard to hear exactly what it was he said
i felt like he was writing sad words on his black satin shirt
but no one listening rose to ask him why it seemed he was so full of hurt
he moved away with a slow shuffle and an audible sigh
he could have asked for some money but he didn't even try
i saw him kick the dirt from his boots as he hit the front door
the lazy lovers and the tourists didn't see him cry
and an elderly couple kept dancing on the ballroom floor
the music might have stopped but their hearts kept beating in tune
i just about decided to stick around for the sight of a big time Texas moon
when the old man starting singing in a nearby street
i saw people stop and gather around with their ten dollar drinks in hand
they lost interest when they heard him hum about the strong and the weak
and soon they wandered off to listen to a popular local band
i watched him pack his sorrows and stroll to the famous plaza of the Alamo
and i would soon follow but wasn't sure how best to go.

what i wanted to say

i'm anxious
and she's waiting
we once were so far apart
but now we're dating
on a warm summer day
if i knew how to pull it all together
i 'd say exactly what i had to say
i can remember her from a better yesterday
she came in on the four thirty five
more than twenty one and completely alive
and after many hours of our give and take
well, for Heaven's sake
she told me she had to go
and what i really want to know
is
where's the road to the distant shore
because i can't take this anymore
i'm anxious
and she's waiting
we once we so far apart
but now we're dating
on a warm summer day
if i knew how to pull it all together
i'd say exactly what i had to say.

come on dark

sitting down
i have nothing to do
my dreams won't come now
i'm sad and i'm blue

no one's here
you've left and gone away
you once were so near
why couldn't you stay?

come on dark
wrap black arms around me
pull out my sad heart
become destiny

slow down time
my days are growing old
if you can't be mine
my fingers turn cold

sitting down
i have nothing to do
my dreams won't come now
i'm sad and i'm blue

music ends
a quiet descended
i've lost many friends
and now we've ended

sitting down
i have nothing to do
my dreams won't come now
i'm sad and i'm blue

so play me the sax

so play me the sax,
jacks
and all the little jills
handing out their thrills
their horny sounds
keep coming around
from deeper underground
and that echo rang in my head
all i could ever hope for i said
when i was carried to my bed
and the next day came to soon
i thought i could see the harvest moon
but it was only a fleeting glance
i got up to square dance
and a fat girl got up to sing
i gave her a wink she gave me everything
she had but it was too much
i reached and she was out of touch
like a radio station out of tune
and the next day came to soon
it seemed my fever was one hundred two
on election day i didn't know what to do
so i spent the night in a safari tent
had myself registered as an independent
and read the news until i felt the saddest blues
pull me into an alcoholic funk
and woke up in the gutter but i swear i'm not a drunk
the bad guys are getting all the good press
and they'll win every game they play unless
somebody stops the fast ball on the way down
town
or the foul line gets redefined as fair
i once thought i could help but i'm no longer there
now the crowd isn't one i'd be too happy to meet
they're running their mouths on the steep banks of Wall Street
and the bell is ringing like a strange fool
without thinking about being really cool
i tried my hand at being a beat writer
i covered sports and loved a certain Philadelphia fighter
who wore black shorts and had crooked teeth
with a mean streak and no steady religious belief
his gym was a dark hole and he gave me a dark soul
so play me the sax,
jacks
and all the little jills
handing out their thrills
their horny sounds
keep coming around
from deeper underground
and that echo rang in my head
all i could ever hope for i said
when i was carried to my bed
and the next day came to soon
i thought i could see the harvest moon
but it was only a fleeting glance
i got up to square dance
and a fat girl got up to sing
i gave her a wink she gave me everything.

a souvenir of 1969

Tu Do Street
hot and dry and teeming with bikes
and anxious smiles
far from the unwashed feet of black sandals
carrying just-baked white loaves of
warm bread along
with a small bottle of fish sauce
tucked into a secret universe,
a baby bag of white rice,
and a can of coke-a-cola expertly flattened into red,
white, and aluminum thinness
to become a wall or a roof
or a souvenir
from a time when Catholics
and Buddhists,
and Atheists and Christians and
young boys and girls,
old women with black teeth,
and old men with thin arms,
sank together into the mud of a dried river bed
looking for bones and shells,
but finding a naked sword
to hold up high.

what i always said

so thanks for the time alone
when the seeds were perfectly sown
and i left my birthday bed
which is what i always said
would come to pass
and there is no use wondering why
all my friends urged me to continue to try
looking for the springs and streams
wondering what living and loving really means
and i'm running out of spending money
so thanks for the time alone, honey
and all those episodes of Lost In Space
disappearing into the five and dime without a trace
and the uneaten plates of white Princess bread
which is what i always said
would come to pass
and there is no use wondering why
i read your Dear John letter and began to cry
turned to the second page you signed "With Regard"
tried to recover but it became real hard
like an iron heart that sank to the bottom of the sea
i looked in a mirror and saw no one there but me
so thanks for the time alone
when the seeds were perfectly sown
and i left my birthday bed
which is what i always said
would come to pass
and there is no use wondering why
all my extra time is spent dreaming of a star-filled sky
looking for the springs and streams
wondering what living and loving really means
and i'm running out of spending money
so thanks for the time alone, honey
yes, it's sweet but not the treat
that can be shared
and when i knew you no longer cared
i got up and left my birthday bed
which is what i always said
would come to pass.

a special red

she was wearing pink
and her mouth was running full
over the nearest hill
came a damn fool
he asked for a quick bite to eat
his wine a special red
the lady said she was hungry
she asked to be fed
and with a fork and a silver spoon
questions on his tongue
the fool said he'd like to sing
but the songs remained unsung
throughout the first night
and into their memory book
the fool gave her what he could
she gave him more than she took
and it made him think
she was wearing pink
then she wore nothing at all
it led to his downfall
he asked for another mountain to climb
she gave him the kitchen floor
his wine a special red
they sat playing by her back door
questions on his tongue
the fool said he'd like to sing
but the songs remained unsung.

The Sacred Heart by Dali (1929)

Salvador Dali
came into perfect view
flirting with you
and painting me
walked toward a Spanish horizon
approached the southern sea
where he found a vast stash of cash
and his model sailboat
stopped suddenly
and asked politely for his winter coat
but it turned out to be too small
or maybe he had recently grown too tall
so he went around the Barcelona block
where he found a melting alarm clock
and a bleeding red eye
it didn't particularly appeal to him but i
rescued him from the intense cold
he started to grow sensitive and acted old
shouted to a nearby friend
played with perspective
and ticking time which he would twist and bend
into a happy birthday cake
well, for Heaven's sake
some things are not what they appear to be
and he kept painting me
because i was not averse to reciting verse
or running after a disappearing leaf
his social scene was like a moving film
of pleasurable mischief
and 1931 records of New Orleans jazz
but that's not all that he has
there seemed no time to spare
i asked him for a secret but he wouldn't share
and when he did i simply had too much wine
to remember if it was dark or light
i subsequently made him my mistress
but somehow that didn't feel right
he was a famous artist and i an unemployed tailor
dressed in my best uniform like a crucified sailor
escaping an abusive dad
it wasn't my only destiny but it was all i had
so i worked very hard and grew a faint smile
Dali was intrigued and asked me to stay awhile
and during the course of our future cruises
i noticed he had blasphemous wins but occasionally loses
he was prepared to be known
as someone who had grown
with talent like The Sacred Heart
i once caused a scandal when i deserted him
before his printmaking had a decent chance to start
life kept intruding
it finally pulled us apart
when he used India ink to spit on his mother
whom he had really adored
i tried to curry favor with my brother
as we sat together on a comfortable perch
Dali got up from his bench and attacked the church
he never called me again even when i heard times seemed good
so our story ended with a rough outline as it ultimately should.