3880. SADDLE RIVER

SADDLE RIVER

(from 'Last Time In Luxembourg')

1. Rambunctious palaver: run to the river,

racheting the smirk, bring the hammer and

unsettle the clerk. Leave your name at the

desk, completely mis-spelled.

2. Remember that time at the waterfront kiosk:

the girl bending down to her dog, showing

everything under her skirt. What a moment,

and it was all so foreign and respectable.

3. I tore the hounds-tooth cover in the car we'd

rented  -  forgetting about the knife hanging off

of my belt. Two hours squirming in a seat, digging

a hole like a mouse in the fabric.

4. The man was singing on the edge of the pier -

like a matinee idol crossed with Charles Aznavour

and Deitrich too. Not understanding one word he sang,

I decided to ask for 'Volare'. He grinned, and went on.

5. I went home with the doctor's daughter  -  she seemed

to know everything and was prepared for me to ask why.

Her answer? 'In order to survive, you stupid American jerk.'