There were
The corner
Straying
What
The streets are all that's left
You are the problem
Well that was years ago
When a girlfriends mom tried to pull a tractor
Out of the back of a truck so she could drive
Down the valley to confront
Her ex
Who owned the property
A gal who studied
Chinese medicine
Cara
Told me at 19 milk was bad for me
She owned hills below Francis Ford Coppola's winery
Asked him not to use chemicals
All in Oakville
Near the Rutherford Steppe
Her mom had performed on Einstein on the Beach with Bird
And later on Ka Mountain
A Robert Wilson performance
That went on seven days and nights
In Iran
Funded by the Shah
Who was a CIA funded leader
Until violently overthrown by the religious zealots
She'd been the first woman to drive a taxi
In Washington DC
HER PARENTS
Who drank a fair amount in
New York City
Like folks in that age
had her locked up
As a teen
They gave her lithium
And electro shock therapy
Because she was unruly-
Her dad
I met in New Jersey
I arrived with the flu
Sick as a dog
And slept two days
Her dad was some kind of genius
Who'd worked at Bell labs
And played Hank Williams
For us
and talked
About the genius in songwriting-
One night I took a photo
Of a cloud behind the garden door-
And also the house was invaded
They cut Pilar's ear off
Asking where the weed was
And the money-
John Bergruen's sister
Helen
Lived down the road
And we flew to Europe with her
And walked thru
An Amsterdam night
-After flying hours-
Soft and warm
-With gardens
And soft winds
Like a dream
Like a fairy tale
And we spent
Three months in Europe
After working in
The 49 minute Photo
In Calistoga
With a gal named Crystal
My girlfriend Jessie
Who this is all about
She'd worked as a maid for a
Motel in Yountville
Made of railroad cars
