December 20, 2012
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Ritter’s Diner and other poems
Ritter’s Diner is an establishment in Pittsburgh. It’s a 24/7 diner, closing only for a few hours every Christmas and opening again for dinner Christmas night. It is a favorite hangout for me and many of my friends. I am not sure, but this very well might be the first poem about them.
Here is the December 15 poem for the poem-a-day project.
Breaking a Heart in 3 Easy Steps
(a found poem from the Ritter’s Diner table jukebox)1
You caught me at a bad time, singing a blue note,
the new kid in town at the Sad Cafe
so I’ll tell you little lies as long as you follow,
I’ll sit in the chariot even when it rains;
I’m an uneasy rider, but that’s the way it is in America.
Who do you love when you talk too much?
Angel-doll, can we retrace our steps, the error of our ways?
My sweet dark lady, save up all your tears.
Sooner or later, we all sleep alone.2
I was riding with Motown Philly to the end of your road,
a friend of the devil for one more Saturday,
gardening at night in a radio free Europe,
trying to get the feeling again even now.
The girls’ gone wild and it’s too far to turn around;
I won’t paint it black when time is on my side.3
Only the lonely cry when its over.
I ain’t the one to go searching when Tuesday is gone.
Old friend, we are standing at the crossroads
and all I do for your love is my redemption song.
I think about the way we were and I ask you to trust in me,
every picture tells a story and you give me a reason to believe.
I ride the train to Deadwood Mountain drinking about you,
wondering who you’d be today; somebody to take me home.
