The following poems are found on Johnny Romeo'

POEMS FROM THE SPOKEN WORD cd FORMOSA AVENUE

All lyrics fully protected by U.S. copyright.

JOHNNY ROMEO DOES HOLLYWOOD

Man, this Town fools me every time I turn around

     tail-lights zipping along faster than the speed of sound

      as an ocean melts between infinite LINES OF BRILLIANCE

   a blowtorch hits the jagged end of A PIECE OF GLASS.

     Did you ever feel your Life floating away from you

drive down Sunset Boulevard, man, Beverly Hills on through

bro', REALITY'S DEFINITION shifts quietly in this part of town

it's like staring into a completely green horizon

DEALS ON EVERYTHING .. AND, I MEAN EVERYTHING

are goin' down.

            There's a building over on Melrose Avenue with an interior

               constructed completely from highly polished mirrors

                 apparently, you're supposed to be able to see yourself

         like everybody else does

reflecting all your physical fears

a road joins Bel-Air with Century City .. it's known as Rodeo Drive

it carries a price tag in a limousine

a solitary passenger makes a joke

THE SMOKE tells him he will survive.

A BODY HAS BEEN DUMPED IN A CANYON off Mulholland Drive

on top of the Hollywood Hills

in a nearby mansion a budding starlet is performing magical tricks

   in a number called SUPERSTAR THRILLS

                                    but, that's okay if they each get what they are looking for

                            she gives him head, says, That's enough, call the agent

   he licks his lips and chuckles, In a minute, honey, but first

you got to give me more.

                 Mann's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard attracts people

from near and far

they press flesh into hardened cement, laugh

and then blast off in a rented car

                        they want to go visit THE FAMOUS OBSERVATORY where Sal Mineo

played it cool with James Dean

       in late night spots like The Sky Bar, Drai's and Bar Marmont

                                PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BE MOVIE STARS smoke cigars

and try to play the same scene.

Somewhere north of Sunset Boulevard .. or is it south

past Tower Records, The Viper Room, Whiskey, The Rainbow

you know, west of The Bel-Age Hotel

Joe DiMaggio is spanking Madonna just like the little girl she is

BECAUSE SHE PLAYS MARILYN MONROE SO WELL

hey, don't get me wrong

first chance I get I'll spank her, too

sounds PRETTY NASTY to Johnny Romeo

and if we can can get Alexandria Daddario or Lupita Nyong'o to agree to be naked

maybe Ridley Scott or Quentin Tarantino or David Fincher or Spike Lee or

David Letterman or Jimmy Fallon

will BRING A VIDEO CREW.

This is the way Johnny Romeo does Hollywood

so, what do YOU do, Miss Holly?

these four-lane freeways that zip and unzip your heart

they all be .. twenty-four hours a day

like every screen writer With His Own Life Story

looking for a place to start

'cause this town is surrounded by angels

and devils who like to put on halos and wings

            but, you see .. HOLLYWOOD SEDUCES EVERYBODY, MAN

while Eternity whispers and sings

everybody.

PARDON ME, SWEETHEART

Wait a second, darlin' .. let me turn out the light

and please, don't push hard on me

I haven't got the strength, you see

I tried to tell you yesterday

                            but, you just laughed and walked away

                          and now .. now, I'm feelin' kind of lost.

Look at me, sugar .. open those pretty eyes

I guess maybe I shoulda told The Truth

musta been that fancy, French vermouth

but anyway, I'm leavin' you tomorrow

I'm .. it's time for me to say goodbye to silly dreams

   and distant kinds of sorrow

memories are something

we can't always borrow.

        And, after all the tears are gone ... I know you'll feel better

sad farewells have this special laughter

like a second-hand novel with No Last Chapter

a love story that ends where it begins.

      So, I guess we're both sorry .. things coulda been different

but now .. I .. driftin' .. driftin'

so far away

   pardon me, sweetheart

   what did you say?

SHE HAS A PLACE

She has a place that burns

tell me, lady, what's makin' you so hot

what's giving you this fever?

Is it that fiercely burning pipe

rubbing you so sweet

and, what is it doing to your heart?

Put your face into the wind

do your eyes water a little bit?

This wind that stares

I wonder why it's looking at you

she has a place that burns.

THE GIGOLO .. LO

His dancin' shoes are shining bright

some oil holds his hair down tight

things around him are starting to move

the night is ready for The Boy to groove

and way downtown where the lights are low

he sees A Woman that he used to know

then everything around him moves real slow

   a police officer reports

I see The Gigolo .. lo.

His perfumed body is keeping a beat

    to some perfume music that sounds real sweet

rings on his fingers are made of gold

twenty-four carat is what he was told

             as he makes his way down to where the lights are low

he sees A Girl that he used to know

and everything around him moves real slow

                                  you know, she be lookin'

for The Gigolo .. lo.

The glass in his hand is starting to sweat

because the action hasn't started yet

                         ALL THE KING'S LADIES AND ALL THE QUEEN'S MEN

look at each other and try to pretend

that everything's cool where the lights are low

as he sees a reflection that he used to know

then everything around him moves kinda slow

                          and he asks me if

I'm The Gigolo .. lo.

then everything around me moves too slow

and the bartender mutters

there he is, that's him

he's the gigolo .. lo.

WEEPING WILLOW

So, what is it about weeping willows that you like

what do they remind you of

    I don't know, she said, they're peaceful and quiet.

     but, you have to help a poet

                                   you've got to give him more than the others, okay?

okay

the leaves

I like the leaves.

I knew it, I knew that's what she'd say

makes you kinda wonder

makes you want to run

WEEPING WILLOW dancing in the wind

breathing and movin' on light air

makes me want to cool down

             I wanna breathe this wind moving beyond THESE EARTHLY

CLOUDS.

So, uh, anyway, I don't know you

you're just a willow tree up the coast

               making promises of SECRETS THAT BALANCE on your lips

isn't that what you said?

Yep, that's right, forever and forevermore

   bursting toward all those infinite stars

     UNTIL THE END OF TIME

these are words for lovers

and, these are our words.

Weeping willow in the sun

how far do you go WHEN YOU RUN

when the air rustles and murmurs

does it take you to your dreams?

How far do you go when you run?

When the air rustles and murmurs

does it take you to your dreams?

A PUMP IT UP PRODUCTION

Police sirens scream by my window night and day

we got our own thing, they say

and I scratch my head.

            Now then, aside from the fact that I am going

completely out of

my mind

you know the one

you have one, too

I think of this girl with far-away eyes

who reaches so sweetly for me

and it seems like I talk to an angel

        then I DREAM about what it would be like

if she was mine.

Baby, baby, baby

I've just NEVER FELT LIKE THIS BEFORE

I get the impression that you can maybe, somehow

if I get really, really lucky

you might be able to understand how sometimes

sometimes, I'd like to just kiss you

and hold you IN MY ARMS.

       The above sentence probably seems like a good place to end this

so, I guess I'll wrap it up

when you close your eyes

         try to imagine A PLACE where there's NOTHING BUT A WIND

and the wind is whisperin' somethin' you can't quite understand

well, it's me, sweetheart

   just tryin' to see if I can get you to smile.

Just tryin' to see if I can get you to smile.

DON'T WAKE ME UP, I'M DREAMIN'

It's impossible .. I'm flyin' through the air again

of course, I have to jump first, then hold my breath

but, it works .. it works every time

and, I get so high .. so very high I don't look down

'cause, if I do I start to melt and disappear in deep water

where the whisper starts

Hey, Johnny .. c'mere

we just want to talk to you.

   AND, LATE AT NIGHT .. when the world isn't watching any more

I open my eyes to gaze at moving layers of light

it's all so subtle

it's all so very comfortable .. clean

IN FACT, when I close my eyes again

I see your lips, my love .. your juicy, creamy lips

melting over my desperate tongue

                                                                           sheltering my WANDERING HEART from the ravages of the road

I want you so goddamn much .. almost too much

it's because of your forgiving smile

and I don't try to hide from you

like I do with the rest of all these people

THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE CLOUDS.

I'm flyin' through the air again

but, this time I forgot to jump .. and yet, it's better

                                                                    because THIS TIME you are finally with me

and we are so deep within each other

yep, this is where I want to be, Planet Earth

so, PAY ATTENTION to this warning

DON'T WAKE ME UP

I'm dreamin'.

WHAT YOU REMIND ME OF

Just for the record

you know when THEY refer to a rock and a hard place

well, uh, that's where I live

a wolf calls it The Killing Ground

         and, some say it is the breath of God

    this place where you make a stand

it's like lookin' at your sorry-ass face in the mirror every morning

my friend, if you see honesty

you will have a good day.

    A man belongs wherever he ends up going

so, don't tell me that I don't belong

it's not that difficult to understand, my brother

these concentric circles that emerge from the critical mass

from the traumatic moment .. .. are FLUID

and the only thing static, are the lines in your reflection.

AND THEN, she let go of my hand

it became THE FIRST LOSS YOU NEVER GET USED TO

    there have been others

but, the first time

just makes you want to go home and go to bed

come here, come here, darlin' .. that's what I tried to say

come here, please

man .. just forget about it

turn out the light and got to bed

come here, darlin' .. come here

please.

WHAT YOU CALL LOVE

An orchestra is waiting for the music to appear

the conductor seems a million miles away

out on the road it's raining prayers Forevermore

and a woman in love is cryin' 'cause, she don't know what to say.

I guess I could have loved you with a little bit more time

some home town boys just don't know when to quit

it's The Things I Can't Remember and The Dreams I Can't Forget

she smiled and said, "baby .. this won't hurt a bit."

The bartender has forgotten what it means to be free

and the nightlife seems to wander on it's own

releasing Further Promises that dance upon a train

charging through The Distances

seldom .. if ever .. known.

In a back alley, a knife gets pulled .. twisted and shining

there's laughter on the Face Of Every Clown

the circus had to close down 'cause the princess got married

her prince Works In A Shoe Store, where the only color's brown.

         And, a suicide note stands alone Out On A Ledge

           fluttering in the breeze, with Lipstick And Champagne

   THEY SAY, she was so beautiful, what a waste of life

       the note said, "please, take away this numbing pain."

AND, hard-luck boys play keep-away on a sunny afternoon

no-one wants to lose, and they argue about who wins

I .. drag my eyes .. to the skies .. let them wander

EVERYWHERE

and try to forget .. or is it remember

what she said

yea, darlin' .. .. What You Called Love

really turned my head

congratulations

you win.

SHADOW HILL

There's a special kind of darkness growin' inside my mind

be careful where you walk, mister, this street ain't so kind

dark sunglasses fight to keep back the chill

of Mercedes Benz's giving ladies a fancy thrill

but, deep in my heart, there's a softer voice callin'

for a simple kinda girl, who'll keep this world from fallin'

'cause up ahead, in the distance, I found a dollar bill

lying in the gutter, up on old Shadow Hill.

My brain is achin', overloaded with Faze Reality

high heels click on the pavement .. darlin', what will you be

does your mommy and daddy sleep at night

or do they worry about Freedom in the mornin' light

I wish the newspapers would forget about disaster

and find something good to say about a beggar's laughter

because in my dreams last night, I exploded from a pill

woke up sweatin' through the echoes, of old Shadow Hill.

Yea, you realize why losers never make it very far

they too busy reelin' from the noise, wonderin' where they are

I could've told them had they asked me

I would've picked The Apple from That Tree

       together, we could approach God for just one more second chance

one more glistening romance, .. another high school dance

because, a special kind of darkness, doesn't always kill

you just roam around Forever, up on Shadow Hill.

you know that's true, man

paranoia

don't be afraid.

SWEET FACE OF HEAVEN
(relentless pursuit of Perfection)

Sweet Face Of Heaven .. I turn mine eyes to Thee

This Thing you call The Planet Earth

the land to which gave Jesus .. birth

has turned my mind so far around

birds amid the trees amid .. no sound.

Sweet Face Of Heaven .. You turn your eyes to Me

The Dream which you now choose to give

Mary, Sweet Mary calls out .. you may live

has turned my back against the wind

and whispers, whispers .. you have sinned.

Sweet Face Of Heaven .. We turn our eyes to Sea

this Stormy Rain that you send down

has built a Cross on the edge of .. an unknown town

and turned my heart inside my soul

cries rebound and shatter .. .. below, below.

Sweet Face Of Heaven .. She turns her eyes to Flee

this Fragile Angel that you have freed

has risen above the thirsty greed .. to lead

a Procession turned back toward those clouds

that swirl and drift .. among these crowds.

Sweet Face Of Heaven .. he turns his eyes to decree

The Spoken Words that you now write

have completed thoughts long gone from .. sight

and created The Turning of a strange, new web

it spins and glistens .. and weaves .. inside my head.

THE EDGE OF SPACE
(don't do it)

at last .. at last .. the edge of space

in five more seconds, no more trace

can hardly wait 'til i get goin'

   i'll say it all in one more poem.

there isn't anything to blame

and i've never, ever felt this sane

how wonderful to feel so free

and, just think .. pretty soon .. Eternity.

look .. they call from the street below

or, is it the street that's shouting, hello

and i guess it's going to hurt me some

       but, that's okay, everything's already numb.

there .. it's done .. i'm on my way

huh, i wonder what my friends will say

well, it doesn't matter anymore

at last .. at last .. Forevermo .. .. ..

THIS CRAZY DREAM

      Man, I had this CRAZY dream last night

   THE UNIVERSE WAS CRYSTAL CLEAR

    and stars were dipped in MELTED LIGHT

    the streets below my window smiled

    and, well .. for once life DIDN'T pass me by

   IF I COULD ONLY DESCRIBE WHAT IT WAS LIKE

this CRAZY DREAM I had last night.

I CAN'T FORGET YOU

   I don't know how many days I've thought of you

over these years

but, there sure have been a lot of them

you would think that Time would erase the memories

          THE WONDERFULNESS OF YOU eventually had to disappear

and yet, here I sit at midnight .. with these words.

I don't know how many dreams I've had of you

over these years

but, they don't stop .. they are so real

you would think that God would somehow forgive me

                        FOR WALKING AWAY FROM YOUR REMARKABLE LOVE so many times

   and now, I wander city streets .. with reflections.

I wonder if you think of me after all this Time

over these years

have you forgiven me, darlin'

do you ever wish like I do .. that we could try again

just one more again ... just ONE MORE simple again

one last forevermore.

The world was going to be mine, I declared, just you wait and see

and now, I have no world

oh, perhaps I have one

but, it's all maybe's and what if's

I cling to this desperate reality .. reality

and yet, when I'm alone .. there's no place left to run to

and, when there's nowhere I can hide

it's very, very simple, my love

I can't forget you.

ONE OF THESE DAYS

Got a real, late night phone call from an old buddy

just the other day

didn't seem like ANYTHING HAD CHANGED

my hometown was still my hometown

                                       and my Life was still my Life.

I wonder if it's sometimes better if we didn't have a memory

I mean, it's nice to remember the good things

even some of them old glory days

and then, I look around

see these faces with the same questions.

Yea, buddy, I jumped in that car for

THE FAMOUS LONG DISTANCE RIDE

the wind was my only friend

we rode shotgun down that number one freeway

we kissed in forbidden places

and saw faces with different answers.

And, a lot of the faces I see today

ain't nothin' about it that reminds me of my sweet home

where the skies are so blue

Lord, I'm gonna get on back there, one of these days

one of these days I'm gonna kiss my old girlfriend

I'm gonna get on back to my hometown, man

one of these days.

One of these days

I'm gonna be back where I belong.

A MILLION MILES AWAY

That's me out there .. a few feet ahead

with nothing much to say

these people that surround me

use words to get around these

days beginning where they end

    a letter you write but never send.

That's me out there .. silently moving along

ten miles away

these waters and these ocean waves

a drifting prayer which the sunset saves

Temescal Canyon cliffs are gone

the place where Cindy sang her song.

That's me out there .. circling the planet

a hundred miles in an orbit bay

thin vapors protect the earth below

in Mexico, sunshine .. Greenland, snow

the Hubble Telescope passes by

measuring reasons why we get high.

That's me out there .. inside my head

a million miles away

       no longer speaking to Ground Control

field equations got hold of my soul

it's echo makes up The Universe

some see it a blessing, .. others, a curse.

Not me out there .. outside my head

a million miles away

ain't nothin' else to say

except, I'm gone

see ya.

WET LIPS
(this one gets me into trouble, you know)

A sip of champagne on a full moon night

cool down the smoke, honey .. try to get it right

you and me are here for only one reason

the way you were your skirt is downright pleasin'

that leather's so tight .. darlin', are you in pain

her SMILE COMES AT ME, again and again

at the start of the night, my lips were dry

the line of her nylons nearly made me cry

SHE NOTICED my stare, said she like MY BOOTS

I said Love ain't good 'less it grabs the roots

she KISSED me once and her tongue was hot

another Hollywood bitch, this girl was not

her red fingernails scratched down my back

and when she reached MY ZIPPER we were right on track

five pounds of Love bumped against her face

her tongue was slurpin' all over the place

a little bit later I WAS KNOCKIN' ON HEAVEN

she told me to count but I only reached seven

I was suckin' her mouth with all my might

we could HARDLY BREATHE it was goin' so right

an hour later we were soaked with sweat

hard to believe but I hadn't come yet

then all of a sudden SHE BEGAN TO WHISPER

I said, tell me, honey .. 'bout your deepest pleasure

she moaned, I exploded in the place where love fits

in her heart, in her soul .. in her wet, wet lips

oh, yeah, right there

right

there.

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