(by Paul simon)

Fog's rollin' in off the East River bank
Like a shroud it covers

Bleeker Street
Fills the alleys where men sleep
Hides the shepherd from the sheep

Voices leaking from a sad cafe
Smiling faces try to understand
I saw a shadow touch a shadow's hand
On Bleeker Street

A poet reads his crooked rhyme
Holy, holy is his sacrament
Thirty dollars pays your rent
On Bleeker Street

I head a church bell softly chime
In a melody sustainin'
It's a long road to Caanan
On Bleeker Street
 

another cup of coffee

(bob Dylan)

Your breath is sweet
Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky
Your back is straight, your hair is smooth
On the pillow where you lie

But I don't sense affection
No gratitude or love
Your loyalty is not to me
But to the stars above

One more cup of coffee for the road
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below

Your daddy, he's an outlaw
And a wanderer by trade
He'll teach you how to pick and choose
And how to throw the blade

He oversees his kingdom
So no stranger does intrude
His voice, it trembles as he calls out
For another plate of food

One more cup of coffee for the road
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below

Your sister sees the future
Like your mama and yourself
You've never learned to read or write
There's no books upon your shelf

And your pleasure knows no limits
Your voice is like a meadowlark
But your heart is like an ocean
Mysterious and dark

One more cup of coffee for the road
One more cup of coffee 'fore I go
To the valley below

 

diners

east greenbush diner,

east greenbush,

new york

coney island hotdogs,

saint Petersburg,

florida

central coffee shoppe,

saint Petersburg,

florida

central coffee shoppe,

saint Petersburg,

florida

Katrina's café,

Pinellas park,

florida

bunn's bar-b-que,

Windsor,

north carolina

east greenbush

new york

tom's diner

(Suzanne vega)

I am sitting
In the morning
At the diner
On the corner

I am waiting
At the counter
For the man
To pour the coffee

And he fills it
Only halfway
And before
I even argue

He is looking
Out the window
At somebody
Coming in

“It is always
Nice to see you”
Says the man
Behind the counter

To the woman
Who has come in
She is shaking
Her umbrella

And I look
The other way
As they are kissing
Their hellos

I’m pretending
Not to see them
Instead
I pour the milk

I open
Up the paper
There’s a story
Of an actor

Who had died
While he was drinking
It was no one
I had heard of

And I’m turning
To the horoscope
And looking
For the funnies

When I’m feeling
Someone watching me
And so
I raise my head

There’s a woman
On the outside
Looking inside
Does she see me?

No she does not
Really see me
Cause she sees
Her own reflection

And I’m trying
Not to notice
That she’s hitching
Up her skirt

And while she’s
Straightening her stockings
Her hair
Has gotten wet

Oh, this rain
It will continue
Through the morning
As I’m listening

To the bells
Of the cathedral
I am thinking
Of your voice…

And of the midnight picnic
Once upon a time
Before the rain began…

I finish up my coffee
It’s time to catch the train

 

A Trip to Sesame Street

It's a magic carpet ride
Every door will open wide
To happy people like you--

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame Street...

57th Street

new York city

2013

(Bruce Springsteen - Incident on 57th Street)

Johnny was sittin' on the fire escape

 watchin' the kids playin' down the
street,
He called down,

"Hey little heroes, summer's long

 but I guess it ain't very sweet around here anymore,
Janey sleeps in sheets damp with sweat,

 Johnny sits up alone and watches her dream on,

dream on,
And the sister prays for lost souls

then breaks down in the chapel

 after everyone's gone.
Jane moves over to share her pillow

 but opens her eyes to see Johnny up and putting his clothes on,
She says,

"Those romantic young boys,

all they ever want to do is fight,
Those romantic young boys,

 they're callin' through the window:
Hey,

Spanish Johnny,

 you want to make a little easy money tonight?"

 

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each piece contains exactly 15 randomly selected

and randomly placed scraps. 

kenly, north Carolina

October 2013

Saratoga Springs

New York

fall 2013

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north jersey

2013

(don mclean)

Starry

 starry

 night

Flaming flowers

that brightly blaze

Swirling clouds in violet haze

Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue
Colours changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist's LOVING hand

dearly departed

cemetery

Marcellus, new york

 

(bruce springsteen)

On the road to Basra stood young Lieutenant Jimmy Bly
Detailed to go through the clothes of the soldiers who died
At night in dreams he sees their souls rise
Like dark geese into the Oklahoma skies

Well this is a prayer for the souls of the departed
Those who've gone and left their babies brokenhearted
This is a prayer for the souls of the departed

Now Raphael Rodriguez was just seven years old
Shot down in a schoolyard by some East Compton Cholos
His mama cried "My beautiful boy is dead"
In the hills the self-made men just sighed and shook their heads

This is a prayer for the souls of the departed
Those who've gone and left their babies brokenhearted
Young lives over before they got started
This is a prayer for the souls of the departed

Tonight as I tuck my own son in bed
All I can think of is what if it would've been him instead
I want to build me a wall so high nothing can burn it down
Right here on my own piece of dirty ground

Now I ply my trade in the land of king dollar
Where you get paid and your silence passes as honor
And all the hatred and dirty little lies
Been written off the books and into decent men's eyes

Treasure island, fla.

 

sunny florida road

(bruce springsteen)

At sixteen she quit high school to make her fortune in the promised land

She got a job behind the counter in an all night hamburger stand

She wrote faithfully home to mama

Now mama don't you worry none

From small things, mama

Big things one day come

It was late one Friday he pulled in out of the dark

He was tall and handsome; first she took his order, then she took his heart

They bought a house up on the hillside

Where little feet soon would run

From small things, mama

Big things one day come

Oh but love is fleeting

it's sad but true

But when your heart is beating

You don't wanna hear the news

She packed her bags:and with a Wyomie County real estate man

 

She ran down to Tampa

In an El Dorado Grande

She wrote back home

Dear Mama

Life is just heaven in the sun

From small things, mama

Big things one day come

Well she shot him dead

On a sunny Florida road

When they caught her all she said

Was she couldn't stand the way he drove

Back home lonesome Johnny

Prays for his baby's parole

He waits on the hillside

Where the Wyomie waters roll

At his feet and almost grown now

A blue-eyed daughter and a handsome son

Well from small things, mama

Big things one day come

Well from small things, mama

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saint petersburg,

florida

MONICA

(Dan Bern)

I remember Monica

At the US Open

She might have been sixteen

Couldn't have been much more

Answering some questions and giggling

I'd never seen

Someone so alive on TV before

Do you remember Monica

shrieking on her backhand

Disguising herself when she went out at night?

Coloring her hair

Like something was telling her

Stay low, invisible

And out of sight

And then, Monica

The blade came, Monica

Like God spitting on you

A knife in your back

We read it in the paper

And moved on to other things

But for you all the colors

Fade to black

And oh, Monica

There you are, Monica

On the cross with Jesus

And Martin Luther King

Just like John Lennon by that hotel

You have to pay for our sins

Was it like being raped?

Was it like being dead?

Like a bad movie over and over again?

Then did everyone who came close to you

Suddenly hold a knife in their hand?

And now, you're back, Monica

Grim and hammering

Trying not to think about that thing then

I hope that you win every medal you can win

But it may never be much fun again

And oh, Monica

There you are, Monica

On the cross with Jesus

And Martin Luther King

Just like John Lennon by that hotel

You have to pay for our sins

Just like Jesus by that hotel

You have to pay for our sins

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eastern

north carolina

some southern garden questions.

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Hotel hallway

saint petersburg,

florida

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sandcastle 

@ 

boca grande, florida

all day

all night

mary ann

down by the seaside siftin' sand

even little children love

mary ann

down by the seaside

siftin' sand.

Nashville, May 2013

the alley in Nashville, Tennessee

Where Pasty Fell To Pieces.

at least that's what I suspect...

 

(Written by harlan howard and hank Cochran)

I fall to pieces
Each time I see you again
I fall to pieces
How can I be just your friend

You want me to act like we've never kissed
You want me to forget, pretend we've never met
And I've tried and I've tried but I haven't yet
You walk by, and I fall to pieces

I fall to pieces
Each time someone speaks your name
I fall to pieces
Time only adds to the flame

You tell me to find someone else to love
Someone who'll love me, too, the way you used to do
But each time I go out with someone new
You walk by and I fall to pieces

5 A.M. oil pressure's sinkin' fast
I make a pit stop wipe the windshield check the gas
Gotta call my baby on the telephone
Let her know that her daddy's comin' on home
Sit tight little mamma I'm commin' round I got 3 more hours but I'm coverin' ground

Your eyes get itchy in the wee wee hours

sun's just a red ball risin' over them refinery towers
Radio's jammed up with gospel stations

 lost souls

 callin'

long distance salvation
Hey mr. deejay woncha hear my last prayer

hey ho rock 'n roll

deliver me

from

 nowhere 

(open all night -b.springsteen)

 new jersey

march 2013

 

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Myrtle Beach,

South Carolina

 

He's lying on the double bed acting self assured
in his t-shirt and his underwear he's barely said a word
she pours a cup of coffee lights the day's first cigarette
picks up the phone and calls her kids from the motel kitchenette
from "Camelot Motel"

by

Mary Gauthier / Kerri Powers

New York, March 2013.

 

Toucha toucha toucha touch me, I wanna be dirty
Thrill me

chill me

 fulfill me
Creature of the night.

 

 

 Then if anything grows while you pose
I'll oil you up and rub you down
And that's just one small fraction of the main attraction

 You need a friendly hand and I need action...

Toucha toucha toucha touch me, I wanna be dirty
Thrill me

chill me

fulfill me
Creature of the night.

 

("Touch-a Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me",

 Rocky Horror Picture Show, Richard O'Brien) 

 empty rooms

 saint Petersburg,

fla.

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tobacco barns

near Windsor,

north carolina

 

I was born in a lump,
 mama died and daddy got drunk.
Left me here to die or grow in the middle of Tobacco Road.
Grew up in a rusty shack,
 all I owned was a hangin' on my back,
Only Lord knows how I loathe this place called Tobacco Road.
But it's home,
 the only life I've ever ever knowed,
But the Lord knows I loathe Tobacco Road.

Gonna leave.
 get a job,
 with the help and the grace of God.
Save my money,
 get rich,
 I know bring it back to Tobacco Road
Bring dynamite and a crane,
 blow it up and start all over again
Build a town,
 be proud,
 to show keep the name
 Tobacco Road.
Cause it's home,
 the only life I've ever ever knowed
I despite you cause,
 you're filthy but I love you
cause you're home.
-Tobacco Road, by John D.Loudermilk.

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a trailer park in Bowling Green

Florida

RED RUM



Motor Court, near Tampa, Florida:

 

She packed her bags
and with a Wyomie County real estate man
She ran down to Tampa
In and "El Dorado Grande"
She wrote back home, "Dear Mama
Life is just heaven in the sun
From small things, mama
Big things one day come"

 

Well she shot him dead
On a sunny Florida road
When they caught her all she said
Was she couldn't stand the way he drove.

(Bruce Springsteen)

 

 

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor,
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?

It's a neighborly day in this beautywood,
A neighborly day for a beauty,
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?

 

NORTHSIDE,

SYRACUSE, NY

Navarino, New York

an altered view.

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The New York State Fair

Syracuse

2012