062503

 

Truth or Consequences to Socorro, NM

Wednesday June 25, 2003

     6:34am  I just woke up in this trailer. I got a great night's sleep. It feels great outside. I'm going to go look for some bathroom facilities. Okay, later on. Ooh, there's a car out here with a great bumper sticker. Actually, it has tons of good stickers. One says, "Police, the only legal gang." Ha, there's another one that says, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." Umm, that's on a car, so I hate that sticker. "Don't hold strong opinions about things you don't understand." "Mallwart - your source for cheap plastic crap." "God bless the whole world, no exceptions." Cool, they got a Darwin fish. "Practice Reassembly, fuck work." "Help, I've tripped and I can't get down." "Demon to some, angel to others." "It's ok not to drink." Man, I like these stickers. "Taxes suck." "Give peace a chance." "I have a serious drug problem. I'm all out." "The only urine sample you'll get from me is for a taste test." "Don't vote, it only encourages them." Cool, I like most of those stickers. 

     6:36am  I came to the bathroom here where I changed clothes last night. On the back of the bathroom wall there's a poem. Let me read it to you. It's called The Tramp by William Nesbit 1926. Please keep in mind that I am transcribing this poem from my minicassette recorder. A lot of it I can't make out. I improvise or replace stuff with "something":

The Tramp

    I am a knight of an older order
    I am a son of an ancient line
    You head your land with a buying border
    Never land that may not be no line

    Others are slaves to the sword or saber
    Others are bowed to their something something
    Others are leagues to the lords of labor
    I am a knight of the open road

    What of the day? Of the coming morrow?
    They may go drown in a tideless past
    I have my choice. I may beg or borrow
    I have my way, I may feast or fast.

    Something something the world is roomy
    You and your toil have your slavish place
    I know the debt that is ever due me
    And I the man with the smiling face

    What do you know of the ceaseless calling?
    What do you know of the living trail?
    What do you know of the long road falling?
    Down to the hill to the single dale

    What do you know of the knight's blue curtain?
    Swung in the sky for the sleeper's tent?
    What of the world? All of your thoughts uncertain
    Die in the walls where your life is pent

    I am a knight of an older order
    Part of the race that of old went forth
    Trails of land and of line and border
    Footing east, west, south and north

    Stoop to the strokes to the lash of labor
    Bend your back to the galling load
    I have the whole wide world as neighbor
    I am a knight of the open road

                   Wow, that's me. I am a knight of the open road, hehe.

                   Hold on. I couldn't quite understand everything that I recorded. Let me look it up on the web. Damnit. I'm having trouble finding it. I hope I got the name right. For all I know, it might not even have ever been published. I searched Google for William Nesbit - The Tramp and all variations. AltaVista, too. I even put quotes around it to only search for both names together. I got the idea to look at poetry.com, but nothing. Let me look some more. I just did a search for "poetry search engine" and am going to look on poemhunter.com. Cool, you can specify poet name, poem title and poem text. Let's see. Nope, the only Nesbit in their database is Edith Nesbit. Let me search for "The Tramp" on poem title. Nothing. Shit. Hmm, let me search for "I am a knight of the open road" under poem text. Damn, still nothing. Oh yeah, by the way I'm typing this up on July 29 at the Doe Library in UC Berkeley. I give up. Let me keep going.

                   Oh yeah, I never explained what happened. At first I had gone to the hostel to find some way to kill time until my bus came at 2:30am. Well, I found that way. They have these badass hot springs that anyone can get in. I tried one out. It felt delicious. By the hot tubs they have a sign that says, "Adventure lives here, come in peace, leave with a smile." The river out here is beautiful. I wish I had a boat. I wish it wasn't as cold and I could go swimming.

                   I made friends with the Sarah and Barry. Sarah told me she was going to Albuquerque tomorrow morning and that I was more than welcome to come with her if I wanted. So, I opted to do that. They let me crash in this travel trailer for the night. I much rather get a ride the next morning in a car than have to stay up until 2:30am and catch the Greyhound.

 

Next day..