The Homoiconian Rest Home by Pepe Nero

It’s hard to find, The Homoiconian Rest Home,
and sad to say it’s a sad place to visit.

It’s a beautiful old place
a white classic american wood scroll gothic
with a porch running around all four sides.

The grounds are cleared and are a grassy lawn
worthy of the finest golf greens
with, for shade, an occasional English Elm or Austrian Chestnut

winding rubber paths so the folk don’t injure themselves when they
fall. They are always
falling.

Rocking chairs each under a large umbrella.

There are no steps leading up to the porch,
only long slanted walkways with bannisters running
their entire lengths.

One can’t visit unless one is invited,
no cameras or tape recorders are allowed.
Imagine my delight when my old friend, and flame, Krazy Kat sent me a small
perfumed pink envelop with the enclosed message, writ by hand:

“My darlink pepe
plese come my way
I wants so much to see you today"

and instructions for finding the home.

what a day it was
so sad and yet so great
to see my Krazy with a walker
this gal I once did date
I said to her “Ah you look so fine"
she said “I nose better,
I’m seventy nine."

"I like this place
so many memories"

“We’s all old
everybodies you see
why there’s Marilyn, she’s seventy nine
she ain’t so young
but she’s still fine"

“Isn’t that........"

“Yez, Elvis,
he’s only seventy, or so, I think
and yez he’s kep that kitschy stile
havin’ painted his krutches pink"

"Well l’ll be damn that’s . . ."

“Yez, Billies de kid
he’s a hundred forty six
he’s not for a long time
been a teen age runt
and so they’ve come to call him
Billy the ainchunt"

“Is that Mickey Mouse in the wheelchair
and still wearing short pants?"

"Yez, didja ever think you’d see the day
they wouldn’t let Minnie in you know
she wasn’t famous enough, they say"

“This place is really much too arresting
and beginning to get
a little depressing"

“Ha, wait till you see Popeye
He’s at least 76
and he’s taken up again
one of his old tricks
he starring in those Tijuana comic books
that used to give you kicks."

"Look Krazy, I truly love you
but I truly now must go
you’ve ruined everything for me
with this old folks show
I’ll never be able to watch again
a classic starring Bogart,
or any movie
starring the sort
of icons such as D. Duck
or Superman
I used to like to watch them
I used to be a fan
But those days are over now, I guess
and I’ll have to settle
for second best."

"Goodby my love
I’ll never forget your charms aplenty
and I hope you live to be
one thousand and twenty."


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