A TUESDAY NIGHT’S CONFUSION

I
 Do you remember the tune
 we used to sing years ago
 marching in file some distant road
 where now all the others go
 a game of cards in a wet tent
 in the green hills of Scotland
 and our long philosophical talk
 where all the tankers strand.
 II
 When I call you on the phone some night
 and ask you to come over
 don't hurry but take your time
 'cause you might change your mind
 and I am not that important.
 III
 When you see me on some grave yard
 among the other lonely people
 I am there because of my parents
 who left me with their ghosts waiting for
 their one and only son.
 IV
 Don't read my poems
 by candlelight
 don't take them down
 to the market place
 because now that I have come that far
 I want to be on my own.
 V
 Words tumble
 if you don't lend a hand
 images fly away
 if you don't lock them in
 and I am just the magician's servant
 who still worships a masterpiece
 that he cannot control.
 VI
 I hope these lines
 satisfy your values
 and if they don't go deep enough
 grant me my petty struggle
 my tobacco is not the best you can get
 and still I am trying.
 VII
 Don't read these lines too fast
 you might miss me
 and I don't want to be forsaken
 by someone who is looking for me.