*July 27, 2003

I've now been
where it all began.
Where Kerouac, Ferlingetti, Ginsberg and others met
to hone their poetry
into, what would become Beat.
There's nothing really special
about the building itself--
just another store
on Columbus Avenue--
as one girl put it:
"So I'm supposed to stand in awe
because this is where the 'Beats' met?"
It isn't the place--
it's the people--
extraordinary poets who called this store their poetic home.
The only reason anyone cares
about this old bookstore
is because they met here.
It is only their presence
that lends a hand
to the fame of this store--
without them it would only be another.