John Ashbery

We're meeting uptown in the New York Public Library
Hanging in the city with my bud, John Ashbery
Inside the daily details he's saying something really deep
You gotta brush your teeth and you always gotta get your sleep
We'll speak in French translation and we'll tour the artist's gallery
Hanging in the city with my bud, John Ashbery

It's a list
With a twist
Which will be quite amusingly witty
Oh what bliss
(Oh my lisp)
But you look so unbearably pretty
It's cocktails and showgirls and glam evening wear
A night out in Manhattan with nary a care
When I enter the party everyone will stare
But inside I'm incredibly lonely 

The cocktail jazz furnishings of the living room
Are unsuited to our urban/R&B lifestyle.
The invitations keep piling up
Although I'm not sure if I am too interested
In sharing time that way. Can't I just
Acquire my own greedy pile
To spend however I wish?
I've known John for years
We went to school together
But recently he's been getting
Rather dog eared. A little floppy
Not perking up whenever I walk into a room
Wearing one of my fancy Nantucket sweaters
Like I did on the Cape when we first met