belle isle 2003
Detroit is the place to motherfuckin' be
Honky Tonk Sam said so and there are flies
all over this picnic table
some people are skating
cause you can skate on Belle Isle
and also rap music
Paradime is here whoopin' it up at the party
I drove by and heard him but did not stop because
I was not invited to the party
I should have come with a bag of potato chips
either barbecue or sour cream and onion
the best place to buy onions is at Eastern Market
also bananas and tomatoes
a guy is riding his bike on Belle Isle
and he looks like a tough guy
I was driving around Belle Isle in my motorcar
and I thought about comin' in here at night
and drag racing against my own dark fears
fuck that, it's illegal
“Dawn loves Edwin” is carved into this picnic table
I am able to see many cars driving by after
a wonderful day with family and friends
the Belle Isle zooarium is closed
and I do not know why
lots of things are closed on Belle Isle
and I do not know why
somebody should get the mayor in here
to check up on this
but the mayor is probably playing golf
Detroit is an interesting city to drive around in
because half the streets are blown up and
it's a death jungle
but a beautiful jungle that knows how to sparkle
when I am meditating on the wonders
of everything I think “who cut this grass?”
when I am driving in Detroit I keep my window
down and listen to classical music and I
pretend I am making a movie about
what happened after all the streets got blown up
when I am making that movie I feel like I should
stop and meet all the people instead
of just driving through
Detroit has a world class symphony and they
were goddamn wonderful
it would be more wonderful if right now I
had some Better Made potato chips
some kids got out of a car and one of them
has a green balloon hat on
someone just got pulled over because
he was going too fast on Belle Isle
goddamn I am hungry
who put all this trash all over the place I wonder
cause wow Detroit has a litter problem
I am calling out to all the people
to stop littering all over the streets
and also violent crimes
from here I can see the skyline of Detroit
and also some people playing horseshoes
goddammit
there are lots of beautiful people here
and their sweaty skin glistens
as they carry their babies
I would like a Baby Ruth to pop in my mouth
I would like to come back here and drag race
my ass all over this place
a good license plate to have
is one that says “******”
try not to run over squirrels in your Escalade Ma'am
thank you very much
there's an African style wedding
in front of the conservatory
and I've never seen anything like it
someone is banging on drums, and someone
is saying that pepper represents discipline
I am undisciplined and that is why I taped
two forties to my hands last night
and drank them
it's an Indian summer for this African wedding
a boy just came out of the conservatory
with his bike
I wonder if he was riding all over the plants
shit, that's illegal
hate crimes are what people who can't
see the beauty of nature do
man that guy is really kickin' it on those drums
bang-up tang-up tinker twollop
someone else is jamming out some blues on guitar
I hope it's not distracting the bride
I maintain to this day that babies
should not play with poison
I tried to see the blues guy but
there was a fence and it blocked me
it had magnificent blocking power
goddamn there are a lot of geese on Belle Isle
goddamn I am hungry
well, good luck on your marriage people
~
2003