The Road To Somewhere Far Away (But Not So Far I Can't Make Out The End)

There are days, my friends, when I just dread getting up in the morning. These days usually turn out a whole lot better than I expect they will, because I can handle an awful lot.

Anyway, tomorrow's my day off, and I'm going to spend some of tomorrow on myself. First, I'm getting my hair did by someone named Anthony, who's supposed to be the hair-diddest. Next, I'm going to check my bike tires and then I'm off to Golden Gate Park and, sooner or later, to the beach.

After that I'll do some work, because I can't seem to get over this hump of work right now. But right now I'm listening to Paul's Boutique, because it makes me happy.

Work. I have a way of life and a reason for being, and I guess sometimes I fear that path. The straight and narrow fills me with fear.

But all paths have surprises along the way -- the lizards and snakes, the creeks and dripping mosses. And sometimes, just over a rise, a view of a valley white with buckeye blossoms, and beyond it a blue sky full of clouds all moving in one direction, and beyond that a glimpse of the sea.



In any case, tonight while stretching I heard a few numbers from Patti Smith's new album. She covers a lot of people, and she does her own thing with emotional honesty, and the songs simultaneously respect and reinvent the originals, and, and, and. Oh, and you should hear her version of "Within You and Without You"! Patti Smith feels these lyrics (you can hear this in her voice as you've never heard her before), and she maintains the rhythms of the original. In other words, Patti Smith has a poet's sensibilities.

Real poetry, in my opinion, isn't some clever, boring in-club. Real poetry is clarity and music combined.