If Eddie Izzard and Tom Waits
Fell in love, it would be in New Jersey
Home of the Boy Scouts and one of 36
States where sodomy is legal
Except in Fort Dix and other military
Bedrooms. Imagine the Luna Bell
Diner, Eddie in plaid –- humor,
A dead giveaway –- Tom fresh
From a fight with the Haitian
Attendant on the Garden State
Parkway who wouldn’t let him pump
His own gas. They’d agree on
Springsteen, order the Thomas Edison
Special –- turkey with extra light
Mayo and bright, pimento
Filaments. About the future?
Eddie wants a flat in Ocean Grove,
Tom, a bungalow in Asbury Park,
A short walk to Fish Heads to sing
Ballads for folks who still respect
The Blues. Ain’t gonna happen. Izzy’s
Busy getting serious, and Tom, well,
New Jersey’s just too small for a voice
That big. So it’s up to us. Next time
You’re in a diner along route 1 or 9,
Consider the resin chandelier, the quarter
Jukebox. We’ve got all the music
And light this state can stand. Go ahead:
Seduce someone with the one foreign
Word you still know how to say.
Laura McCullough
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/pump-your-own-gas/
