a coney island of the mind

In the summer of 1968 I went to New York and discovered the subway. My first trip was out to Coney Island, in homage to Ferlinghetti. The sand was dirty and the roller coasters shabby.


Let's go


Come on


Let's go


Empty out our pockets


and disappear


Missing all our appointments


and turning up unshaven


years later


old cigarette papers


stuck to our pants


leaves in our hair.


Let us not


worry about the payments


anymore.


Let them come


and take it away


whatever it was


we were paying for.


And us with it.



--Junkman's Obbligato, Lawrence Ferlinghetti