| the
leaves are changing
somewhere outside
brewster
it's rare that we leave
new york
the island but here
we're moving with the
changing leaves
north
on interstate weeping willow
slowly changing
it's early in the season
& there are "natural points
of change within
a given time"
cross
river
we bare
exit 6 closing
I-684 is
that way brewster 11
prawling 3
i think it said
we
are borne forward
on peter pan's
back
carried changing
by people professionals
wards of the lake & solar
system
carried like stars
on the poets'
backs.
the
second best thing to do
during a lifetime
is to plan a revo
lution
the
first best thing
is to revolt
the
last best thing
is to know what you've done
& why
hard thinking
like rearranging
all those
letters
in a
scrabble
box
coke
& lots of
land
for
sale
kerouac
told whalen
in a letter dated 12-4-68
call me phil call
me
my # in st pete
is
343-1541
 road work for
the next mile
don't
give this # to
anyone
i don't want visitors
i'll strangle
'em
the
first thing is
to plan your
life
the
second thing
is to live
it
kerouac
told whalen
to return his
books
he told whalen not to worry
to move somewhere
do something else
maybe
(the leaves where they have begun
to show red
show such a red
not red light or
emergency
but a subtle change of
life)
a sign says CHARLES IVES CENTER
kerouac
wants that copy
of blake's jerusalem
back -
a sign planted on the cemetery lawn
says
TRAVEL SERVICES
the
second thing is to hunt
the first is to let your prey go
free
maple
& fir
they never change in
this water
town
this highway of exits &
bridges &
footing (s)
the
willow chases the wind
away
the wind wanders down the
highway
& into the small city
it rests atop
1 of the 2 main spires
of the
mother church
a body-shaped grave
marker
hunched over
from where i sit i cannot tell
if it is
thinking
weeping
staring
sleeping
praying
watching over the grave
or looking for its mate
its coat
its slippers
from where i sit
i cannot tell if it is
male
or female
tho the latter is my
guess
kerouac
mentions
other books as well
he's drunk
he has been hit in the head
with all that television has made
available to
him
he wants to write as much as he can
& read
& rest
& drink
he wouldn't mind whalen's company
but doesn't really seek
too many other
visitors
food - phone - gas -
lodging
god's gymasium
the
last best thing about the leaves
is when they start still moist
falling & forming
a carpet of reds
yellows & all the fire colors
on the ground
the
first best thing
is to know they'll
change
the
second best thing
is when pretty much all of them
have changed
& the leaves are still on the
branches
then
they start
drying
& making noise
& winter comes
& the trees look cold
& you wonder
how they can stand
being
so
naked
kerouac
says to whalen
that he's gonna build
a big fenced-in-out-
door
library
in his back yard
he'll sit all day
read
write
& drink boilermakers
& look at
his georgia pine
his banyan tree
& his bush tree of some kind
that's at least 25 ft high
well
phil
take care of yourself
the
leaves are changing
they're free & the
reds & hellow-oranges
are softly
creeping thru the greens
don't meditate too much
food
phone gas lodging
are not far
away
my letter
is safe under
glass
at the public library
along with my dreams
& some of the dharma
the
shoulder is closed
this life is a new town
a blasting zone
a blue colony a diesel
under glass maybe
the color won't change
much more
will not go brown
& brittle like the leaves
when their changes are complete
&
when the blasting zone ends
the best music
the best fishmonger
the best refuge
is peter pan's
back
above the clouds
as the rain
starts falling cast
on I-
84
food
phone
gas
lodging
let's ride together into the corner of this room
let's lie together beneath the fast drying leaves
let's sing deaf but hearing every sound
let's blow
together
like the wind down the highway
let's stop together on asylum street
beneath the golden dome
let's walk thru the capitals of heaven
like 2 naked trees that just won the jackpot
& straight/talk our way into warm
flags wave
let's stop pretending
that we've seen all this
before
the leaves are changing
for the first
time
the leaves are
changing
Steve Dalachinsky
is a frequent contributor to the reading performance scene in New
York City. "This piece," writes Dalachinksy, "was
written 9-22-94 on a bus from New York to Boston enroute to attend
the Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Conference (Kerouac and Spirituality)
in Lowell Ma" |
