Studio8 - Uniting the Arts

the night I saw Bob Kaufman read
was in about 74' when I was living
in a sub-let apartment on Pine street
in San Francisco which was about
a block up from the street that ran
through China town

Bob was reading at the Saloon
in North Beach, with a bunch
of other poets, I drank a lot of wine
before the reading, and I don't remember
any of the other poets, I was drunk
but I do remember Bob because
I he had a presence and a way of reading
that stood out beyond the other poets

but I had been reading his poems for a awhile
I sometimes carried a copy of Golden Sardine
after the reading I walked, stumbled back
to my little studio in the Frisco night
with a smile on my face like a crescent moon
there is something wonderful about
hearing a poet that you have been reading
to see them stand up and read after
you lived with their poems

one day I saw Bob walking down Columbus ave.
it was like seeing a living poem walk like a tiger

San Francisco
The foggy breathe of dreams floating on
Dreams with the Golden Gate Bridge
Vaguely connecting words threads personalities- love stories; dramas- -
Romances
Linger in stern grove
Golden gate park


I did not hear him read
But the experience
Was eloquent in nature
In San Fran

I loved San Francisco when I lived there
I loved every street and every window
I loved the street cars and the bars
I loved walking up and down Height street
I loved the hills and the tall buildings
loved the fog and the deep blue skies
loved riding on Bart and the bus
loved my trippy walks through golden gate park
loved hanging out in City Lights books
a beautiful city, San Francisco
until it was taken over by Silicon Valley
and it became impossible to live there
unless you were rich, " wasn't born there
guess I will die there, San Francisco nights"

For me : -San Francisco will always be " rolling into the city from the hog farm in Santa Cruz mountains- -the wooden sculpture of that guy in Ben Kim and- Richard bratigan- -
Wavy gravy and his storytelling
" -are those strange hippies fucking in our road?" I think of ram dads and a g tank of nitrous and real l s d
San Francisco

Titty bars and pot deals from humbolt
And the goat men
Growers
Those were the good old days- the filmore
Sex
With strangers

the good old days when a concert
with three great bands for a few bucks
Filmore, Avalon Ballroom, Janis Joplin
Buffalo Springfield, the old Dead

I lived at the hog farm in Santa Cruz mountains
The dead rolled up in buses on acid
Loud music
Me cooking spaghetti for the commune

Later on at the ridge
Looking at the sea miles before us