walking after midnight

by wiggly jones, "the little hippie boy"

illustrations by eddie el greco

the sky is blue the clouds are white i sleep by day and walk at night my father drives a yellow cab my mother takes in washing behind the purple mountain i hear the ocean sloshing my sister is a naughty girl my brother is a thief the stories i could tell you are quite beyond belief they took me to the station and made me pronounce my vowels they let me go at midnight i heard a werewolf howl the night was dark and windy and cold as it could be i passed a pretty lady but she did not smile at me she might have been a vampire waiting for the dawn i turned around to watch her but she was already gone i walked along the seashore and heard a shark’s teeth click i passed by abraham lincoln swinging a hickory stick next came william mckinley looking white and fat and sad i don’t know what he was thinking but it must have been pretty bad then along came woodrow wilson at a brisk and vigorous walk i saluted him respectfully but he had no time to talk i passed by winston churchill but he only scowled at me and i hurried past the castle because i wanted to be free i ran on past the ferris wheel and heard the whole world spin then i saw a fancy restaurant but they wouldn’t let me in i’m just as good as anyone i have always felt it so but some folks live up on the hill and others down below i wish i could be famous like john wayne or cleopatra and then i try to tell myself that it really doesn’t matter napoleon had an army roosevelt had friends i walk the earth all by myself i guess it all depends some folks wish for power others wish for love some just wish for money but they never get enough if only i could figure out the reason i was born i would put a smile upon my face and not be so forlorn if i could only figure out why we all exist i would write it in this poem and fade into the mist