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Poetry Magnum Opus

Day 29:: Ferlinghetti Didn't Recognize Me


dr_con

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Ferlinghetti Didn't Recognize Me
4/29/2019

There was the time dig
a substitution was made
spent the day working at
CityLights man North Beach
and all living the not-so-secret
dream to connect become a part 
of a servant to the lineage poets
artists madmen and a friend who
never asked me back said I
gotta do so you want to fill
in be part of the bop the
boring boring once you
‘ve been in it awhile
day-to-day grind
and I said MAN
hella-hella-way-
cool and they
sd without
Referenc-
ing 

Black Mountain College
Never ever say that sh*t again
And so there I was fumbling
with the System old-old-school
kept wondering when they would 
drop the abacus on me saying
we don’t do calculators here
because the AI war will be lost
And we don’t want them sending
their drones back in time to mess -
up a good thing when who should
walk in but Lawrence Monsanto 
Ferlinghetti and he says Are you
new? Just like that as if he didn’t
know his own store as if he 
couldn’t see the faded 
scars on my finger -
tips from my cut -
ups and razor 
phase 

or all the times
becoming the Best Poet
Possible led to irresponsible
disreputable unethical behavior
eventually delivering me newborn
on the left- coast and so I sd
after too long a hesitation
in a whisper laden with
discontent I suppose
so and he said
I swear he said
That makes
sense.

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I had to SLOW myself down to read and GET this.

whisper laden with discontent

And then a merely, "I suppose so"

How "beat" of you. (I also learned that Ferlinghetti IS still alive.)

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TY! yes indeed he is. 101 ? I think. This was a memory 'redone' from the 90's;_ Last time I was in California, went and bought my Friend Ek's Poetry Book 'Ordinary Villains @ City Lights... Man we've come a long long way;-) Highly recommend the collection BTW some truly astonishing pieces:

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  • 1 month later...
David W. Parsley

Hey, doc, that closing phrase is at once nostalgia-laden and bitter.  Hard to, uhm, beat!

Thanks,

 - Dave

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  • 4 weeks later...

Juris,  I've read this several times, letting it just soak in.   This whole thing was very cool, with a lazy snap of the fingers cool.  The experience retold makes it no less thrilling. I have ventured by City Lights but never entered. (Me being the only one in my party who had a clue of its history or caring.)  I felt like a tour guide on a Hollywood tour pointing out some obscure landmark while the tourists only wanted to see Marilyn Monroe's house.  I loved Ferlinghetti's recognition and response.  Reminder, of when I ran into Gloria Steinem at a woman's conference many years ago, I literally ran into her, we both said "sorry" simultaneously and then I recognized who she was and was struck dumb. She understood, put her hand on my arm, smiled at me and then went about her business and I just stood there like an idiot. 

~~Judi

~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~

For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com

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David, Tinker, & DC - TY for your engagement, one of the one's Im considering submitting around. Many Thanks!

 

Juris

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