shore_leave
Joana.
Well
with
buck
shot
eyes
and
a
purple
heart
I
rolled
down
the
national stroll
and
with
a
big
fat
paycheck
strapped
to
my
hip
sack
and
a
shore
leave
wristwatch
underneath
my
sleeve
in
a
Hong Kong
drizzle
on
Cuban heels
I
rowed
down
the
gutter
to
the
Blood
Bank
and
I'd
left
all
my
papers
on
the
Ticonderoga
and
was
in
a
bad
need
of
a
shave
and
so
I
slopped
at
the
corner
on
cold
chow
mein
and
shot
billards
with
a
midget
until
the
rain
stopped
and
I
bought
a
long
sleeved
shirt
with
horses
on
the
front
and
some
gum
and
a
lighter
and
a
knife
and
a
new
deck
of
cards
(
with
girls
on
the
back
)
and
I
sat
down
and
wrote
a
letter
to
my
wife
and
I
said
Baby
,
I'm
so
far
away
from
home
and
I
miss
my
Baby
so
I
can't
make
it
by
myself
I
love
you
so
Well
I
was
pacing
myself
trying
to
make
it
all
last
squeezing
all
the
life
out
of
a
lousy
two
day
pass
and
I
had
a
cold
one
at
the
Dragon
with
some
Filipino
floor
show
and
talked
baseball
with
a
lieutenant
over
a
Singapore
sling
and
I
wondered
how
the
same
moon
outside
over
this
Chinatown
fair
could
look
down
on
Illinois
and
find
you
there
and
you
know
I
love
you
Baby
and
I'm
so
far
away
from
home
and
I
miss
my
Baby
so
I
can't
make
it
by
myself
I
love
you
so
Shore
Leave
...
Shore
Leave
...
Tom
Waits
*
Lovely
bizarre
sounds
*
000727
...
now or ASAP !
a
special
friend
I
have
never
meet
,
Your
letters
are
kind
,
You
poems
are
perfect
,
Your
English
pucker,
Your
heart
goldern,
no
longer
a
pen
friend
,
I
am
awaiting
your
visit
,
my
gramps
told
me
too
!
my
fabulous
fairy
god
mother
is
so
true
to
you
,
she
loves
colours
I
hope
you
do
too
.
Elizabeth
Jane
wow
thank
you
.
010423
what's it to you?
who
go
blather
from