Pilgrims : Prologue

Harry Bailey serves us drinks
in the tavern, we don’t light up
- although we sure want to.
On the TV in the corner
The Duke says ‘listen Pilgrim’
Harry adds ‘last one before the bus’,
we ain’t forgot supplies for later.

They’s twennythree plus me,
we bought our wheels from Greyhound;
and we’re takin’ the SixtySix
historic route to the Superbowl,
ain’t got tickets and we’ll take in Winona
before we get to LA. Harry gives
me that last beer, enquires

‘What’ll ya do? All that time?
There’ll be a fight before St Louis.’
‘Hell there will!’ Larry Eastwood says
‘cause he’s a cop, ya know.
‘Kiss my ass!’ Miller says ‘cause he’s not.
‘Pardon me but canya siddown and drink
it’s time to go.’ We look at Earl.

‘Well, pardon me, but it is!’ And Bailey says:
‘Whyncha tell stories, betchall got one!’
Reckon he wants the fight on the bus
not on the naugahyde bar stools and clean floor.
Lotta drunk ‘Yeahs’ and ‘alrights’. And Mrs. Baño
a sexy number who useta do porno
sez 'I got a beauty.’ She sure does.

I bang on the ringed wood bartop:
And they say ‘Whassup, Geoffrey,my man’
‘cept Barry the lawyer on his dam’ cellphone.
‘You gotta innerduce yo’self afore yo’ story,
sumuv us is frenzafrenz.’ Then Doc says,
'you goddit Geoff, a grand i-dee-ah,
long as youse startin’ when the wagon rolls.'