room

i walked in to the room and she said what are you doing here ? and i sat down in the old armchair that had be- longed to her grandfather and where her ex-husband liked to watch reruns of matlock

i rented a room - the directors cut

air banana clown doll elephant flower grass heaven impetus joker king lady in waiting market nourishment octopus piano queen refrigerator snake tarantula upstairs violin walrus exhibition yawn zero all of you behind in your rent

i rented a room

the air was smoky the banana was yellow the clown was sad the doll was mellow the elephant smiled the flower grew the grass was green and heaven was blue i rented a room on the 17th floor the angels were winning but the demons kept score i looked at the wall and the wall looked back i heard old number 9 coming down the track the impetus waned as the joker relaxed the king fell asleep the lady paid tax the waiter approached with a bill on a tray the king woke up and said please go away i saw it myself as i sat by the door because lions prowl and oceans roar the market flourished noodles expanded the octopus drifted the piano glad-handed the queen wore a hat the refrigerator hummed the snake said good night and called the tarantula scum upstairs in the moonlight a violin screamed the walrus ate peanuts at the nexus of dreams the maid swept up the peanut shells on the floor sixteen orangutans banged on the door an impolite yawn zero balance is spent all of you villains are behind in your rent i texted my mom and my mom texted me you’re my own flesh and blood but this is not poetry

room 4404

i had never heard of jonathon and i had never been to new york so i was surprised when jonathon invited me to stay with him at the grand hotel. i packed in a hurry. actually my aunt miranda asked for me so i did not really know what i had in my suitcase. the hotel was very wide, at least on the outside. there was a lot of work going on both outside and inside it, so i had to duck under and around a lot of wooden boards and cans of paint and burly workmen to get to the front desk. our room number was 4406. the 44th floor! the man at the front desk gave me a key and i went up by myself on the elevator, as there were no bellhops to be seen. on the elevator i had many strange adventures. when i finally got to room 4404 the door was open and i just walked in. jonathon was talking on the phone, and just nodded absently at me when i walked in. the room was actually a suite - a series of long and narrow rooms. as jonathon continued talking in low tones on the telephone, i went over and looked out the window. the window overlooked a beach, a sort of bay or inlet. on the other side of the bay tall cliffs rose up. i was hungry, and wondered what we would have for dinner. i must have dozed off, for when i woke up jonathon was gone. i was alone. i decided to unpack. when i unpacked i quickly discovered that aunt miranda had packed a number of grandfather’s old golf clubs along with a lot of warm clothing that i did not think was appropriate for the weather outside. five golf clubs to be exact. what was i to do with five golf clubs! i decided to go in search of something to eat, and some more suitable garments. when i checked my pockets i discovered that my wallet was missing, along with my passport! but as i was a presentable and civilized person i though kind people would help me when i explained my predicament to them. and i had no doubt that jonatjhon would return eventually and everything would be straightened out. i went back to the elevator and had more strange adventures.

it felt strange

walking on the sidewalk with the others still trapped in the truck megan wanted to take her chances but i felt a great sense of relief at the newsstand on the corner there were a lot of pictures of frank but no papers ernie was not even there i guess he was not too worried i went up to joe’s room his old telephone was still there the one that looked like a banana i was tempted, but left everything the way i found it in the office i crawled across the floor and got my pants back on everybody acted like they didn’t notice someday i will go back to the hotel and this time go up the stairs very carefully because you never know who is waiting