Notice anything strange ?
As with a recurrent dream, the Flaneur sees something noetic and new
in all of his by now familiar circumnavigations of the Bay
As the vitrine fills with warm saltwater
The good citizens waltz onward to oblivion
1.
Aquatic Park Grows Dark
A mild and placid evening,
Not many people around
Mount Tam broad-shoulders the evening sky,
The lights of imaginary Sausalito come on,
The Golden gate bridge throws the switch
Before long it's just the swimmers and myself,
The water was like a blanket of ice,
Colder than it seemed last month
The water was like a blanket of ice,
Colder than it seemed last month
2.
The Wharf After Dark
A time for coming in
From landscapes of darkness
I am easily mesmerized these days
"San Francisco--Sailor Beware"
Black out on sex booze and music
Wake up on a ship to Shanghai
Some people are quite skillful,
At never seeing you again
It was a case of life's perfect casting,
He looked like a manikin street car driver
In a video noir TV episode
He was more noir for concealing his face
Oh well there's always another street car...
But I'll never get another shot of that driver,
God damn it
Kitsch Palace Row
San Francisco is without any doubt
One of the Kitsch capitals of the world
In a Barbary coast watering hole,
Classic California outsider kitsch,
This miner lost his nose to frost bite
3.
Nighttime at the Fun House
For some systematic disordering of all the senses
Always spare a little time
Madame Sozaska is in the house,
She has never forgotten anything,
She'll spill a lot of sawdust for a sawbuck
Some unfamiliar faces as well,
Emanations of social anxiety
The psycho-pathology of the everyday sideshow
A rigged game of chance
In a miniature world
Made nightmarish by time and death
A hillbilly hoe-down was in full swing,
Sounding cheerful and carefree
Tragedy and schadenfreude
Always seem to show up too
There are plenty of cars and guns available
For the children
There is even a barbershop quartet
For any centarians in the family
Who still remember that sort of thing
Souvenirs for the senescent,
An embroidered patch that says
An embroidered patch that says
I left my mind in San Francisco
These guys were my favorites,
Baroque rock versions of "Mickey's Monkey,"
and of "Monkey Man"
By The Stones and by Toots & the Maytals
By The Stones and by Toots & the Maytals
4.
The Night Club
Full moon rising in the Eastern sky,
Past the darkened Red&White fleet dock,
One encounters a fine dining experience
The celebrated Franciscan Crab Restaurant
We call it "celebrated" because
Tawdry show business personalities
Used to hang out there
Pile-up of San Francisco signifiers
In a kitschy stained-glass tableau,
The City as it never was, and never will be
The City as it never was, and never will be
Keep your eye on this blue neon swordfish
5.
Dark Departure
Look back as we set sail,
A tiny light blue diagonal under the dark blue lights,
The neon swordfish
Next comes the raison d'etre
For tonight's dark journey
Seeking illuminations, same as ever
From far left: Port of Oakland lights,
Bay Bridge, Moon, Saturn, light show,
downtown San Francisco
From far left: Port of Oakland lights,
Bay Bridge, Moon, Saturn, light show,
downtown San Francisco
Way out on the Bay, almost halfway home
We turn and make for the Ferry Building
Bridge lights and the moon
In the distance my home port of Oakland
Two nights ago the switch was thrown
For new lighting on the Ferry Building
Recalling the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915
As we were boarding the downtown passengers
A guy raised a toast to the thrilling bridge lights,
Co-incidentally this was the last night for them,
Originally a two-year temporary installation ending tonight,
The ever-changing light show will now return next February
Photos of the 1915 version of the lit-up Ferry Buiding
Illustrate that it was quite a bit more elaborate than this,
Every edge of was articulated with big bright bulbs,
Not to spoil a cool eyeball kick with my critical eye
What perspective in this image,
A streak of light out of the heavens
A fond goodbye for now,
O fairy lights of the Bay Bridge
Back at the Port of Oakland,
After we drop off the Alameda crowd
The boat crosses over in the most exquisite slow motion,
Inducing hallucinatory drowsiness and a sensation of no motion,
Little kids drop off to sleep like puppies
A streak of light out of the heavens
A fond goodbye for now,
O fairy lights of the Bay Bridge
Back at the Port of Oakland,
After we drop off the Alameda crowd
The boat crosses over in the most exquisite slow motion,
Inducing hallucinatory drowsiness and a sensation of no motion,
Little kids drop off to sleep like puppies
5 March 2015
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