1919- to present

1919- to present

 

 

 

i was in City Lights Books

and saw an aging Lawrence F.

sitting behind the counter

with his spectacles

holding one of his old books in his hand

 

absorbed in a "Coney Island of the Mind"

i didn't want to disturb him,

he must be pushing 100 i thought as started to back away

 

he sensed me or had great hearing for his age

but he looked up and smiled,

asked if I was looking for anything in particular

 

i looked at what was in his hands and said

"yes, I'll have one of those"

and then drifted back to my younger days

and those days i spent

at that very Coney Island

 

yet...i don't remember if i had a mind then

probably not,

and poetry was not a glint in my pen

 

but kids are rarely genius

and writing grows as the heart ages

 

so I paid for my book,

thanked the man

and walked out of the store

feeling like i had just met a poem

 

that i could never write.

 

 

9/4/19

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

I read Ferlinghetti's book many years ago. He was one of the pillars of the Beat Generation. You are right, writing grows as the heart ages. Some things cannot be expressed until you have some years under your belt.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

my favorite poem of his by far is "i am waiting"--
a master of the written word and his poems sound so great read aloud.
thank you for your words,
j.

[Relic]

I started writing poetry as a fluke. Today, I find some poems as little presents I wish I'd given. Some look at books as something old people want. To me, they're gifts like a perfect summer day. Perhaps in heaven, you have thousands of years to read as much as you want.
That would be nice.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

to me too...my favorite Xmas presents were the poetry books my folks gave me as stocking stuffers...i would just sit there reading and someone would say..."aren't you going to open your presents?"
ha ha...
thanks, Tim,
j.