Wednesday, February 27, 2013

ace of night, part 4: the wind and the rain

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here



there were no messages for me when i got inside the hotel.

not that i was expecting any, but i always check.

just like i always look both ways and behind me when i cross the street.

you got to gamble, but you can't be too careful.

i walked up the three flights of stairs to my room.

i don't like elevators.

did i ever tell you what happened to me in an elevator in budapest in 1944? but that is another story.

i walked down the corridors.

one thing about the place, it was quiet.

i stood outside the door of the hotel room.

how many doors outside how many rooms in how many hotels in how many cities in how many continents had i stood like this -

my sixth sense told me everything was all right.

i still wished i had a gun. i needed a lot of things - that was high on the list.

i put the key in the door and opened it and went in.

i switched on the light. nothing. just like i expected. my powers of prediction were still working pretty good. good enough, anyway.

i needed some sleep but i knew i wasn't going to get any.

i had gotten pretty wet, so i got my suitcase out and changed my clothes.

i could hear the wind and rain outside.

i couldn't stop thinking about the dame in the cab - what did she call herself?

miss lost lamb.

i went and looked out the window,

it was raining harder than ever.

i hoped miss lost lamb hadn't gotten too wet getting out of the cab.

she was right across the street.

so close, so close.

i could say, she might as well be a million miles away.

but i know better.

fate has a way of stepping in.

especially if you know how to handle it.

i got a cigarette out of my pack and started to light it with my lighter.

then i remembered the matchbook.

davenport 7 - 5297.

i went over and sat on the bed and picked up the phone.

the line was dead.

not too surprising, in a dump like this.

but now i was curious.

and i wasn't going to sleep anyway.

i didn't feel like going back out in the rain.

i figured i'd go down to the front desk, use the phone down there.

yeah, that is what i'd do.

davenport 7 -5297

it had a certain ring to it.

part 5: carla



Monday, February 18, 2013

first poem



columbus sailed the ocean blue
napoleon met his waterloo
nero fiddled while rome burned
joan of arc was roasted to a turn

george washington cut down the cherry tree
patrick henry wanted to be free
abraham lincoln freed the slaves
blackbeard rests in a watery grave

cleopatra was fond of snakes
moses was found in the canebrake
isaac newton got hit by an apple
jacob with the angel all night did grapple

delilah cut poor samsons hair
solomon sat in a golden chair
benedict arnold was a traitor foul
old ben franklin was wise as an owl

confucius had a lot to say
buddha sat in the shade all day
friar tuck and robin hood
robbed the bad to feed the good

methusaleh lived to be very old
jesse james was an outlaw bold
bob ford shot jesse in the back
all pride and manhood he did lack

florence nightingale tended the sick
the tower of babel was made of brick
noah built an ark in the rain
goliath by little david was slain

all these things i learned in school
i am a barely tolerable fool
always keep your powder dry
and wait until you see the whites of their eyes



Thursday, February 14, 2013

lover





you look so fine, baby, coming down the stairs
with your eccentric millionaires
a mellon and a dupont on each arm
how could you ever come to harm?

down in the shadows, behind the band
that's me with a tray in my hand
but you need not be impressed
i'm serving the chauffeurs, not the guests

i know your new friends would never believe
that you could ever plot to deceive
with your baby eyes and perfect smile
but i have walked with you many a mile

on feet of dreams down a highway of lies
under burning, black and rainy skies
but why speak in symbols, why talk in riddles
your hell is real and i'm in the middle

remember the gray nevada sand
when we walked into vegas hand in hand
the bus blasted by with its black exhaust
but we never stopped to count the cost

vegas - the american vampire night
lit by money's undying light
24 hours of non-stop cancer
the tunnel of love for two cons without an answer

third time unlucky, you always said
the third mark we rolled turned up righteously dead
you took one look at the sucker's i d
your eyes got wide and you said to me

this guy's the boss of the whole east coast
but, baby, i still love you the most
no need to be scared of this dead mother
as long as we are true to each other

and remember the cafe in laramie
when i became you, and you became me
and the world was buried in cold and snow
it was not so very long ago

now that i think of it - yes, whenever
i'd wake up from a dream of love forever
your eyes were always clear and bright
checking out everything, everything in sight

when we held up the liquor store in ukiah
i thought i heard the heavenly choir
but it was the deputy's turn to die
you saved me then - now i wonder why

and what would mrs purvington-smith
say if she knew who you hung out with
and the things you did and the things you knew
and the jokers and johns you conned - the whole crew

and mr and mrs burford jones
would shiver in their upholstered bones
and cry for their mamas if you ever admitted
to all the murders you've committed

remember the time on 34th street
when you got blisters on both feet
we went into larry's sandwich shop
the rain began falling, drop by drop

and there was that pink cigar smoking god
callahan from the vice squad
but he just nodded and stirred his tea
stirred his tea, so wearily

larry's was kind of declasse
the american sub was his forte
you liked yours so much you ordered two more
the rain began to really pour

a guy at the counter with a purple face
told a sad story about the seventh race
the hustlers and losers and shoppers outside
went by in a single watery tide

at times like that it seemed to me
they were all slaves, and only i was free
the world wasn't old, the world wasn't new
the world wasn't anything, but i had you