A Darling Candy-Man

*Daddy, look, it’s such an extraordinary garden
Where the ducks speak English
And I feed them bread-rolls all afternoon
And they say, “Thank you very much, Mister Valentine”

Those heart-breakers and lovers
Beneath the marquee, and on the carousel, 
Seem a lifetime away
As I eavesdrop into the rendezvous of strangers
Around slanted café tables
Sitting in the corner with mixed-feelings
Over mixed narcotics
Asking Bobby, the inanimate mime,
“Who pierced pin-holes in the black velvet sky?”
On every pillow, below every window,
A dim lamp-light flickers
For every insomniac, every snaking cab,
Every late-night hack
And I, recovering with a cup of murky coffee
And a plate of undercooked eggs and toast,
These were the evening’s rations
I gobbled them up in preparation
For the tango I would have to dance across
The concrete dance floor, of Washington Square,
To submit my wellbeing to a sweetheart; a darling candy-man,
Who gave kickings to his friends – no thrills, old-fashioned
With the switch-blade, the law paid,
And a particularly nasty beating reserved
For spicks, spades, micks and kikes
I’m not saying it’s fair
And I’m not saying it’s right
But he slapped my face and said,
“Hop on little Froggy, and we’ll settle this another night”

And I left with my white, purple and blue skin in tact
My companions, Cinderella in her blue jeans
And Snow White on her knees,
Let’s spend another evening in the extraordinary garden
Beneath the marquee, or on the carousel,
And we’ll feed the ducks,

Did I tell you they speak English?
They have my voice and they say,
“Thank you very much, Candy-Man:
Thine bread-rolls taste like dandelion and burdock
And they are what makes our garden extraordinary”

*(The opening stanza is based on the song, "Le Jardin Extraordinaire", by Charles Trenet: C'est un jardin extraordinaire / Il y a des canards qui parlent Anglais / Je leur donn du pain ils remuent leur derrière / En disant: Thank you, very much Monsieur Trenet").