M Train: A Memoir

by Patti Smith

I would sit by a low window in Caffè Dante that looked out into the corner of a small alley, reading Mrabet’s

The Beach Café.

I saw him paused before a headstone that read Son your mother is praying for you.

He stood there for a long time looking up at the sky.

That's quite endearing to have on a headstone. i too would pause for a moment

Stay calm was the message telegraphed from his pale blue eyes.

'Telegraphed' is an intesting way to describe a message without words

—How did you communicate? —Cognac.

I mean,,, it's a good way to talk

Without noticing, I slip into a light yet lingering malaise. Not a depression, more like a fascination for melancholia, which I turn in my hand as if it were a small planet, streaked in shadow, impossibly blue.

I admired my father from a distance.

It occurred to me, as the heavy curtains were opened and the morning light flooded the small dining area, that without a doubt we sometimes eclipse our own dreams with reality.

Animal Crackers

Those always slap Ngl

watermelon juice,

That's a thing???

—This isn’t science, it’s poetry!

Keep!