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

CLIFF FYMAN

Atlantic Hotel In Long Beach

There was an ocean nearby and a boardwalk from where one night

while sleeping the boy I was rooming with came limping back

howling with his ribs smashed by bandits

Having been up most of the night hearing him moan even after

the ambulance sped him away I was tired the next day when

Paula Greenland came to visit me, smiling At sixteen

she might be my first life-long friend, I thought

She walked back home because on this holiday her religion forbid

riding in a vehicle and she was struck by a truck dying

on the way to the hospital covered in blood

I was sweeping piles of dust in the dining room when the call

came and I cried into my stiff, red hotel jacket All day the

radio played "Everything is beautiful, in its own way"