That McMenamen’s coaster has been on the wall at HQ for 20 years. (HQs: 1, 1.5, 2 & 3 too) and it’s tattooed on my wrist if I ever lose the original.
That older lions ditty has been on the wall at HQ for 20+ years too, since I found it and poached it from a chapbook or a street score and completely absorbed it into my reality… …literally cutting and pasting it into an issue or two of kickstand and 20 years later still giving it a nod here and there, paying my respects. The author is unknown, at least to me.
That ditty bubbles back up into my brain sometimes as I roll around on the street, and it has inspired a few new little ditties and dredged up some old song lyrics, in the same vein:
i see
older lions
on the
street and
wonder if
they have
a wisdom
i lack.
i see
older women
on the
street and
realize
they’re
younger
than I am.
i see
old steel
bikes
on the
street and
i just know
they’re
there
their
original
owners.
i see old
dental picks
on the
street and
wonder
when
that shit
became
socially
acceptable.
i see
electric
scooters
on the
street
going
30 mph
and i
call it
natural
selection.
i see
silver
fenders
on the
street and
i want
them
painted
black.
i see
5-story
residential
development
on my
street with
street-level
retail but no
off-street
parking.
i see
the walk
you walk
on the
street and
i see
how much
it differs
from
the talk
you talk
in your
horseshit
teamwork
dreamwork
staff meetings.
i see
old Xs
and arrows
taped on
the floor
and i
say that
was
what
6 feet
looked
like.
i saw
a pair
of Showers
Pass gloves
on the
street and
i’ve been
wearing
them for
3 years.
i saw
a kitten
squashed in
the street
i read
about a
plastic
surgeon
and his art
collection.
–Iggy Pop
“main street eyes”
i see
the light
at the
end of the
tunnel now
someone
please
tell me
it’s not
a train.
–Cracker
“i see the light”
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