A REFUGE FOR POETS WHO WRITE IN THE LYRIC TRADITION,
WITH RHYME AND METER, WITH OR WITHOUT MUSIC
|
SAN DIEGO VICE
I am a detective with San Diego vice.
If your place has entertainment, then I demand a price.
For here in San Diego this is called a cabaret,
And you must have a license or no one gets to play.
To offer any kind of entertainment is a crime
If you also serve hard liquor, or even beer and wine,
Or if you seat fifty people, or if you charge admission,
Unless you pay the vice squad before you pay musicians.
There’s a fee when you make your application,
To pay for a police investigation.
There’s a fee to get your license from San Diego vice.
If you lose you pay me once, if you win you pay me twice.
And if you play piano or guitar,
In coffeehouses, restaurants or bars,
Be sure they have a license to provide the entertainment,
Or you’ll be on the street, and your boss will face arraignment.
I am a detective with San Diego vice.
If your place has entertainment, then I demand a price.
For here in San Diego this is called a cabaret,
And you must have a license or no one gets to play.
San Diego, California, 1995
|
|