SECTION THIRTEEN
POETRY PAGE
sm
COLUMN
SIXTY-EIGHT, FEBRUARY 1, 2002
(Copyright © 2002 Al Aronowitz)
LETTER FROM ED
[Born in 1917, Ed Galing calls himself the Poet Laureate of Hatboro,
Pa. He doesn't have a computer,
prefers a typewriter and bangs out chapbooks---22 of them so far. His latest is TALES
OF SOUTH PHILLY, PUBLISHED BY Fourstep Publications.
Here's another letter from Ed and seven poems from TALES OF SOUTH
PHILLY, which sells for five bucks.]
30 OCT.
dear
al
thanks
for the material you sent me, and your kind words. i appreciate it very much.
sometimes i wonder if it's worth it, but when you tell me things like you do,
i just want to continue... the small press has been good to me. and i am being
published everywhere. still i feel not enough is being written. by me. reading
that letter about my 2 sons, i feel i have done them both an injustice ... it
was kind of tongue in cheek, you know..i love both of them very much, and they
love me too.
i
recently made CHIRON REVIEW: photo and poems. also a few others. even got 15
bucks from one magazine....
hey, i am rich. AL, I AM SENDING YOU MY LATEST CHAP, TALES OF SOUTH
PHILLY. feel free to use any of
the poems on your website that you want. You have enough in this chap to keep
you going for a long time. however, tell me how much you like, or dislike this.
okay? keep in touch. love, ed galing
3435 mill rd. hatboro, pa 19040
*
* *
by definition
you
just don't come
to live in south philly
just because you like it
here...
you
come here the hard
way,
the way I got here,
some
people came here
when their luck ran out,
and
they had no where
else to go,
the
poor ones, like the
jews and the italians,
got here by just gettin off
the boat,
lookin
for an easy place
to flop,
south
philly is the kind
of neighborhood
where
people don't give
a shit if tomorrow never comes,
just
so long as they can
cop a feel, drink a bit a wine,
and speak their mind....
i
am proud of the fact that
my old man dumped us off in
the poorest section of the city ..
i
don't mind the garbage
in the streets,
and
the way the wind whips
old newspapers everywhere...
my
favorite place is
the corner,
here,
right outside jakes
candy store, i hang up with
my gang,
we
shoot the shit, talk girltalk,
and whistle at the chippies
walkin along the streets... ##
* * *
strip tease
the
house i lived in
was three stories
and
i lived there
with my mom
cause
we had no
man in the house
he
had skipped years
ago and left
us on welfare...
the
house belonged to
someone, and rented
out rooms for extra
money
we
minded our own
business
my
mom busy working
durin the day in a
chicken store
and
me finding the
peep hole one day
which
led to another
bedroom where four girls
the daughters of the guy
who owned this place
took
their daily showers,
lyin naked on the bed,
their fine boobs firm and
succulent,
a flash of thigh and dark bush,
and backside,
and
i'd watch them laughing,
foolin around, lyin on the
bed rollin around in nakedness,
not
knowin that my eye was
enjoyin treats of juicy fruit
that south philly was famous
for. ##
* * *
love on the sly
when
I lived in
south philly
there
were easy
girls
who
would give you
anything on the first
date
we'd
raid the ice box
first
then
we'd snuggle up
in the parlor
when
their parents
were away
and
we'd try to make
out
cause
south philly girls
came from poor houses
and
dreamed of movie
stars like Gable
or Stewart
or
maybe fred astaire
wantin to dance like
ginger rogers
but
we guys had
different ideas..
we were more like
cagney or the duke..
know
what I mean?
both
of us made out
in our own ways
and
chalked it up
to experience. ##
* * *
south philly
Nobody who
ever lived in
south philly
ever
forgets
it.
the
streets are
narrow.
the
winter is
brutal.
day
or night
someone is beatin
the hell outa their
old lady
or
someone is
pullin a trigger
in anger
south
philly
is tough
cause you gotta be
the
only ones who
are soft are the
women
who
like their
picture windows
showin
some kinda
statue like the virgin
mary
and
keepin their front
steps clean
and
sendin their kids
off to school
hoping
they aint
packin sornethin diffrunt
inside their lunch
and
will come back
in one piece. ##
* * *
south philly too
at
sixteen i hung
out around fourth
and porter streets in south
philly
porter
street is one
of the better streets
it's
wide, and the houses
all have porches on em,
and are next to each other..
oftentimes
i could hear
what was goin on next door
by puttin my ear to the wall...
my
mom was good at makin me
eggs for breakfuss....
she
was very pretty, had dark
hair, and a small slight
figure, and was allus cheerful...
she
liked to clean the outside,
would grab a broom and sweep the
whole sidewalk,
and
all the neighbors liked her..
we lived mostly in a jewish
part of the street,
and
one thing about south philly
people,
they
kept to the holidays,
like the big religious ones,
both
gentiles and jews alike...
each
one had their own services,
and respected each other, too... ##
* * *
dance time
we had these block
parties around
sixth and snyder avenue
every summer
we would close off
the street
put up some fancy lights,
put up a bandstand in the
middle of the street,
turn on the radio,
get some nice tunes
and swing and sway
with sammy kaye
or benny Goodman
for the hot ones
at night we would hold
each other close
all of us rubbing it
up a bit,
sweet sixteen and all
that crap,
and we'd dance the night
away, and hide our erections
if we could... ##
* * *
a degree
you
dont find anyone
with a college degree
workin in south philly
we
all got degrees
you never heard of
joe
brown next door
to me drives a truck
he's
got a degree
in hard knocks
driving
long haul
for days at a time
and
he brings home
a coupla hundred a week
but
don't have much left
after he pays the rent
minnie
the butcher
lives across the street
on
fourth and dickinson
we
buy all our meats
in her store
you see all those diffrunt
things hanging on hooks
like
chickens and ducks
minnie
is a small fat woman
and her husband moe is short
and bald and hacks a knife
like nobody
he
can cut a piece of meat
with one swoop of his thick arm
these
are my people and they
got degrees in life
and
nobody in south philly
would have it any
other
way. ##
* * *
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