07.12.12

strollin thru chinatown, slowly
down the street of the gamblers
past the golden gate fortune cookie factory
the old chinese telephone exchange
into portsmouth square

where the first american flag was raised
when it was still sandy
people living
in tents made of sails
destination complete

it was called yerba buena,
b/c the hills were covered w/ a good herb
something like mint

robert louis stevenson used to come here
to sit
while he was waiting for fanny's divorce
we have the same birthday
i only just remembered this
the other day

today i was reminded that a refrigerated trailer
is called a "reefer"
it is interesting how drug slang
came from railway slang
which graduated into trucker slang
a children's book from the library
titled "big rigs" 
reminded me of this,
and how the marijuana joint became called
a reefer 
b/c it makes you so cool & detached

which reminded me of
henry miller
who always hated the word
cool
he didnt want to be cool
or detached
he wanted to feel everything

it is one of the first words
parents say to their children
trying to fit into pop culture
and public situations
without knowing what
it truly means
(not judging, i say it too)

ironically, i had to kick
two junior high kids
out of a playhouse train this afternoon
in st. mary's square playground
smoking yerba buena
"the conductor's here," i said

earlier i'd been in jackson square
when two old men passed me,
one saying to the other,
"the idea is,
is when you die
you're reincarnated"

this evening i talked to gary snyder
at the library
and reminded him
of a letter he wrote in 1962
from india
"he invited us
to have an astral lunch with him
which turned out
to be nothing"