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Poem currently on tour disguised as a piece of Flash wearing a short story skirt - will return once appropriately reprimanded for being for wandering off into an alternative genre lifestyle.

loads of potential, rather pleased to see at the end that this is being "workshopped" (yuk, horrible expression. My life is being workshopped btw) and also you tread on the toes of Tom Waits and he doesn't for no man, even you, Cate, a powerful American. I am happy to repeat the words you recently said to me, "keep it up".

She wore red shoes by the news-stand
As the rain splashed the nickel
Spilled like chablis along the midway
There's a little blue jay

In a red dress, on a sad night
One straw in a root-beer
A compact with a cracked mirror
And a bottle of Evening in Paris perfume, was this sad tune

Told her to wait in by the magazines
Take care of some business it seems
Bring a raincoat, bring a suitcase
And bring your dark eyes and wear those red shoes

There's a dark huddle at the bus stop
Umbrellas arranged in a sad bouquet
Lil' Ceaser got caught, he was going down to second
He was cooled, changing stations on the chamber
To steal a diamond ring from a jewelry store for his baby
He loved the way she looked in those red shoes

She waited by the drugstore
Ceaser had never been this late before
And the dogs bayed the moon
And rattled their chains
And the cold jingle of taps in a puddle
Was the burglar alarm snitchin' on Ceaser

Now the rain washes memories from the sidewalks
And the hounds splash down the nickel full of soldiers
Santa Claus is drunk in the ski room
Christmas eve in a sad cafe when the moon gets this way

There's a little blue jay by the new-stand
Red shoes, red shoes
So meet me tonight by the drugstore
Meet me tonight by the drugstore
Meet me tonight by the drugstore
Goin' out tonight, we're goin' out tonight
Goin' out tonight, wear your red shoes
Red shoes, wear your red shoes
Red shoes, red shoes

your life is being workshopped – oh god, that sounds horrible! I hope it only needs a few tweeks and that in the end you're feeling pleased with your hard work. I have some things that I'm working on (i.e. my love of cookies) maybe I should try a workshop approach.

p.s. I almost sent you a hate note thinking that that you wrote the above in 20 minutes or less. My eyes were squinting so tight I have new creases ... but it's a Tom Waits, I'm better now, I need to read your posts more carefully.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMvmZC8rJys

Cate wrote:your life is being workshopped – oh god, that sounds horrible! I hope it only needs a few tweeks and that in the end you're feeling pleased with your hard work. I have some things that I'm working on (i.e. my love of cookies) maybe I should try a workshop approach.

p.s. I almost sent you a hate note thinking that that you wrote the above in 20 minutes or less. My eyes were squinting so tight I have new creases ... but it's a Tom Waits, I'm better now, I need to read your posts more carefully.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMvmZC8rJys

oh, no no. It is officially credited to young Tom, but guess who really wrote it! me and Tom go back a long long way.

Cate, this is fine and oh-so-yearning, even her creepy-crappy encounters don't stop her from trying and I hope to hell she makes it Outatown.

xo

fishfishquaileye wrote: It is officially credited to young Tom, but guess who really wrote it! me and Tom go back a long long way.

oh yes, that explains the songs ‘Warm beer and cold Fish’ and ‘Christmas card from a Fish in Minneapolis’

imaginary friend wrote:I hope to hell she makes it Outatown.

Thank you I.F.
I'm not really sure, I only wrote/followed her to the road, but I kinda think she will. She didn't wait around for some bizarre weather anomaly to whisk her away, mind you with climate change...

just by coincidence I received this in my e-mail box yesterday as part of a promotion for a new Tom Waits book.