Used to be used to be
I went to sleep last night with used to be on my mind-
Gladys Knight and the Pips
For Lamont B. Steptoe.
There used to be a bar called Bacchanal
1320 South Street
art bar, poetry bar,
nothing ever like it
nor should there be
that time is gone
and the time for tears is gone
There used to be a Horn and some Hardarts
where the twenty seven foot clothes pin now is
or where Robinson luggage is now, memory being a bastard
and we would meet people we had for got for years
here and some guy with a beard
would be blowing riffs on socialism
and we would argue who was better
the Beatles or the Stones
Marx or Lenin
acid or mescaline
Alaska or Kalifornia
There used to be a Second Fret
and an Artist’s Hut
and a City Book Shop
and a Gilded Cage
and a Mid-Town Theatre
and a Maxine’s Bar
and a Strawbridge with a Clover
and now there’s a lot of used to be stores
on center city Chestnut streets
and what does it mean to a city
when the used to bees
weigh more than the nows
There used to be a bar called Bacchanal
and Poetry meant something, then
not like now
when you can read any verse you want
and noone even threatens you
Bob Small 8-13-96
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About bobsmall1
Bob Small has read at Bacchanal, Barnes and Noble, Borders,
The Booksource (Swarthmore), The Clark Park Festivals,Community College of Philadelphia
Highwire Gallery, The Mad Poets Annual Food Fest Reading,
The Middle East Restaurant, Nexus GalleryThe Painted Bride Arts Center,
The Philadelphia Ethical Society, Robin's Bookstore
The University of Pennsylvania and also in New York City,
Trenton, NJ, Washington, DC, and in many Delaware Valley Venues.
He is the author of numerous chapbooks, including
El Otro Lado (with Maralyn Lois Polak), On watching America Die,
Small Steps and Toes (with Lamont B. Steptoe), and The Unapoet.
This is his first Reading in over a year.
Bob Small was Founder and President of the
two decades old Poets and Prophets,
which presented Poetry Readings
in both Delaware County and Philadelphia.
Bob was the Chair of The Delaware County Green Party and was the
First Green Party Candidate in Delaware County (2005).
He was also a Green Party National Delegate, among other duties.
He is the Founder and Facilitator of
The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition (PaBac),
which is a Coalition of both Independents and Third Parties.,
seeking to legislatively improve Pennsylvania's Ballot Access Laws. (Facebook)
Bob is also a founding member and
Facilitator of Democracy Unplugged, and Delco Debates,
which has presented Independent and Third Party Forums in Delaware County since 2004. Facebook)
He was formerly involved with Cinema Resistance, and Delco Pledge of Resistance.
Bob currently lives in Swarthmore with his wife
and their menagerie of animals.
He is currently focused on writing a Novel and organizing his Poetry, which he posts on his Blog (Bob Small1). He is retired from most of the above activities, except Delco Debates and Poets and Prophets, which he may return to.
robertthesmall 