H e a r t S o n s & H e a r t D a u g h t e r s of A l l e n G i n s b e r g

N a p a l m H e a l t h S p a : R e p o r t 2 0 1 4 : A r c h i v e s E d i t i o n

DAVID COPE

He took a long pull on the stout, thanked us all,

& disappeared into the night

after the governor

drove out the disabled, closed down the hospital

––oh, they’re still here, leerin’ out their grandma’s windows

or wanderin’ in the street talkin’ to shadows-

family’s here, y’aint gonna send ‘em

all the way to Lansing, so far away & you ain’t got dough––

yeah, they voted in a new prison.

hungry for work––fightin’ over hash-slingin’ jobs in Marquette––

they strung wire, remodeled rooms, took inmates

& now they parade around

in their new uniforms with their pistols & their jeeps.

but now they’re payin’ for it,

lights on all night––hell, y’can see ‘em

even out here on a clear night––

& right in the middle of town, those lines

& lines of barbwire bundles

goin’ up––preacher said they look pretty

in Sunday mornin’ sunshine with the new rain hanging off ‘em

& then I knew he was nuts, too.

that damn governon, though,

don’t get me on that governor-that son of a bitch!