Junkissurroundedby magicand taboos,curses and
amulets.IcouldfindmyMexicoCityconnectionby
radar. "Not this street, the next, right... now left. Now
right again," and there he is,toothless oldwoman face
and cancelled eyes.
Iknowthisonepusherwalksaroundhumminga
tune and everybody hepasses takesit up.He isso grey
andspectralandanonymoustheydon'tseehimand
thinkitistheirownmindhummingthe tune.So the
customerscomeinon Smiles,or I'min the1Mood for
Love,orTheySayWe'reTooYoungtoGoSteady, or
whatever the songis forthat day.Sometime youcan see
maybefifty ratty-lookingjunkies squealingsick, running
alongbehindaboy witha harmonica,and thereis The
Manona caneseat throwingbread tothe swans,a fat
queendragwalkinghisAfghanhoundthroughthe East
Fifties, an old wino pissing against an El post,a radical
Jewish studentgiving outleaflets inWashington Square,
a tree surgeon,an exterminator,an advertisingfruit in
Nedick'swherehecallsthecountermanbyhisfirst
name.Theworldnetworkofjunkies,tunedona cord
of rancid jissom,tying upin furnishedrooms, shivering
inthejunk-sick morning.(Old Petemen suckthe black
smokeintheChinklaundrybackroomandMelancholy
Baby dies froman overdoseof timeor coldturkey with-
drawalofbreath.)InYemen,Paris, NewOrleans, Mex-
ico Cityand Istanbul-- shiveringunder theair hammers
andthesteamshovels,shriekedjunkycursesatone
anotherneitherofusheard,andTheManleaned out
of a passing steam roller and I coped ina bucketof tar.
(Note:Istanbulisbeingtorndown andrebuilt, espe-
ciallyshabbyjunkquarters.Istanbulhasmore heroin
junkiesthanNYC.) Theliving andthe dead,in sick-
nessoronthe nod,hooked orkicked orhooked again,
comeinonthe junkbeam andthe Connectionis eating
ChopSueyonDoloresStreet,MexicoD.F.,dunking
poundcakeintheautomat,chasedupExchangePlace
byabayingpackofPeople.(Note:PeopleisNew
Orleans slang for narcotic fuzz. )
TheoldChinamandipsriverwaterinto arusty tin
can, washesdown ayen poxhard andblack asa cinder.
( Note: Yen pox is the ash of smoked opium. )
Well,thefuzzhas myspoon anddropper, andI know
theyarecominginonmy frequencyled bythis blind
pigeonknownasWillytheDisk.