Not Too Near
Hollywood
It was a thursday that
the madwoman said I had kind eyes
and a good heart.
And I thanked her,
she was once beautiful and a songwriter
and knew these things.
You stood by impatiently
waiting for the bus
Not too near
As she stood close to me for warmth
and told me stories.
Not too near,
You did not hear the part
about the good heart and kind eyes.
You stood with a long-dead star's
name under your feet in your trendy
new shoes and recoiled from the woman
and the madness.
I gave her my warmth.
I have heard you worry about your wardrobe
and how skinny you are
and not once wonder about the things that I could give you.
And I know you'll never wonder because
You look at the boulevard and see names,
I conjure, like some wise-ass necromancer
in shorts and a decepticon t-shirt,
ghosts of the past and their glamour
when I look down.
You will never notice that I have kind eyes
because I'm not wearing teflon-coated
special order pants.