naked along the side of the house,
8 a.m., spreading sesame seed oil
over my body, Jesus, have I come
to this?
I once battled in dark alleys for

he said, “I was working in Hollyw
working in Hollywood and he was
the worst: he was too drunk to sta
end of the afternoon and so I had
into a taxi

he sat naked and drunk in a room o
night, running the blade of the kn
under his fingernails, smiling, th
of all the letters he had received
telling him that

I read last Saturday in the
redwoods outside of Santa Cruz
and I was about 3/4's finished
when I heard a long high scream
and a quite attractive

“Chinaski, you got a following in
Denver...”
“yeah?”
“yeah, I got a magazine and I wan
poems from you...”

Either peace or happiness,
let it enfold you
when I was a young man
I felt these things were
dumb, unsophisticated.

out of the arm of one love
and into the arms of another
I have been saved from dying on th
by a lady who smokes pot
writes songs and stories

there is enough treachery, hatred
human being to supply any given ar
and the best at murder are those w
and the best at hate are those who
and the best at war finally are th

you may not believe it
but there are people
who go through life with
very little
friction or

the goldfish sing all night with g
and the whores go down with the st
the whores go down with the stars
I’m sorry, sir, we close at 4:30,
besides yr mother’s neck is dirty,