I Remember Spirit

I know what you're thinkin', the look on your faces But if you look around you might read about me places I was one of ten, now it's down to me Do you wanna buy a book? Some would call it poetry But that's not for me to decide I don't call myself a poet, I call myself a high spirit And that's something you can't see So close your eyes, and you can hear me read This one's from December, 1964 Oh never mind, I'm just an old man and a bore But you live in a world that's stuck on automatic And I remember spirit back when everybody had it And I don't mean on Main Street, where they drive in from the Valley I'm talkin' 'bout the people used to light up that alley Ginsburg and Kerouac, Corso and me Suzanne and Dianne, Sinclair and Ferlinghetti Yeah, that was a time, writing words in that choir Like a chorus of angels 'round a trashcan fire But you can't be surprised when anything ends And now I'm just an old man missin' old friends But I could still read for you, if you can spare a second But nobody can, 'cause it all got taken We're sittin' double-parked with the meter always runnin' Somewhere along the line they turned out time into money But I remember spirit, when everybody had it Before they plugged it in and started prayin' to the static And now I'm just an old ghost hangin' around But maybe I could grab a ride uptown?