Diamond Joe,
short with hardened
features,
a grey beard with
patches of black.
Poetically correct.
Educated in Paris
at the Sorbonne.
Able to mold words
as a wizard might.
Carved sentences
into gems of phrases.
Had the mordant wit
worthy of William Burroughs
and the narrative flow
of Jack Kerouac.
Loved Ginsberg as
a brother might.
Admired Ferlinghetti's
humor and Dylan's music.
Wrote of India and
the Buddhist way.
Wrote of Sidartha
like Herman Hesse.
Grew up on the
Lower East Side
of New York a block
away from Peter Orlofsky
and Gregory Corso.
Studied in New York libraries
and hung out in the East village.
A friend to the homeless,
no one too old or too destitute.
- Diamond Joe -"Peace, man."
Had a stroke at 56
Took away his voice
but not his wisdom.
Now he paints with
his left hand.
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