First Avenue
it’s midnight on the ice tonight, everyone has gone to bed
except for Lonesome Sally with her aspirins in her head
she’s peeking through the keyhole where the doorway meets the hall
watching for stranger who is long dark and tall
so when Long Tall Howie with ribbons in is hair
comes skipping down the hallway singing “everything is fair”
she knows he’s a nice fellow but she doesn’t like his looks
‘cause he ain’t long and tall enough so she goes back to reading books
down by the benches and Bennie’s hungry shoes
down by the water on First Avenue
the blue streak purist bus comes in right on time
the driver gagged and cross-boned, tied up way behind
a skinny kid with afro is drivin’ the wheel for us
and he don’t allow nobody to pay to ride on his bus
and the taxi cab and the French horn play a midnight melody
as Vanishing Lucy paints her face with mystery
and as she vanishes finally a hummingbird does growl
along the foamy waterfront where the Jesus people prowl
down by the benches and Bennie’s hungry shoes
down by the water on First Avenue
Sergeant Frank is terrified with his policeman’s badge and hat
he’s afraid of men with beards, especially if they’re fat
so when fat bearded Poco comes and taps him on the boot
poor Sergeant Frank jumps clean out of his suit
Poco puts it on and goes walkin’ off down the street
shooting off his guns on his new policeman’s beat
and somewhere in the city a naked sergeant’s on the loose
as Poco pawns his uniform to buy a jug of juice
down by the benches and Bennie’s hungry shoes
down by the water on First Avenue
in the private residential clubs behind the ivied walls
if you could peek in through the windows you would see them one and all
hallucinating futures where the money grows on trees
and falls into their pockets as easy as you please
50 years later and it has come to pass
that the money trees are everywhere but no one gets the cash
except the ones who already hold the levers of the day
and they don’t really need it but they get it anyway
down by the benches and Bennie’s hungry shoes
down by the water on First Avenue
the weather’s getting harder now – everybody knew it would
sequestered in the underbrush collecting firewood
the ocean water rising and ground water shrunk
while the billionaires are stuffing all their money in a trunk
it’s a massive system failure, it’s the end of TV
it’s a catastrophic undertow to suck it out to sea
and as the sun begins to set you can see it give a grin
“I’ll be back again tomorrow and we’ll see what happens then”
down by the benches and Bennie’s hungry shoes
down by the water on First Avenue