i gotta write another chapter i ve been feeling incomplete this epic voyage of my 30s reads a little weak so how did we end up here sidelined on the coast we finally stopped our rambling to live happily by the shore now i m afraid i m gonna die here dried up like some beached whale and nobody will ever hear my tale i was single in the city up north in l i c selling stories to an audience of friends and family and i wasn t seeking women though i stumbled on my share like simon on 7th avenue i took some comfort there mm hmm and then i met her a wilted flower she bloomed too soon dwarfed amongst the towers burned out like a child twirling a sparkler i got her as far as iowa she started to regain most of her color that s when she told me there was another love it makes you lazy you don t ask questions anymore you settle into the furniture collecting cobwebs on the porch we got a cabin on the beach i took on a mistress of my own you knew but you didn t say anything we re too scared to be alone and afraid we re gonna die here this town s bloated with old folk s homes when we kick the bucket who s to really know do they notice once our breakfast has grown cold and when the orderlies steal our wedding rings do they even care what stories our bands of gold could tell you said baby you worry so much about dying you forget to really live yeah maybe so now tell me who you ve been with so i ll write another chapter i mean it s all i can do and if my body s tossed along the craggy rocks i hope this book is waterproof greetings from the pacific we tied the knot out on the sand i got a job writing obits a professional writer at last i m afraid i m gonna die here all comfy and content i wrote my own obit reduced to one sentence timothy was a sensible citizen he cast aside his starving eyes for his very own slice of american pie a sensible decision i better write another chapter