"Well, here I am." "Fuck you, Serking!" "Hey, hey, hey, hey, watch it." "I've been working out with weights." "Get off the stage, you drunk!" "I'll just drink my wine and leave, right?" "Ok!" "Let's forget the bullshit and get into this so called "art"." " Style..." " We love you Charlie." "Style is the answer to everything." "A fresh way to approach a dull or dangerous thing." "To do a dull thing with style is preferable to doing a dangerous thing without style." "To do a dangerous thing with style is what I call "art"." "Bull fighting can be an..." "an art." "Boxing can be an art." "Loving can be an art." "Opening a can of sardines can be an art." "Not many have style." "Not many can keep style." "I have seen dogs with more style than men." "Although, not many dogs have style." "Cats have it with abundance." "When Hemingway put his brains to the wall with a shotgun that was style." "Or sometimes, people give you style." "Joan of Arc had style." "John the Baptist, Jesus, Socrates, Caesar, Garcia Lorca..." "I have met men in jail with style." "I have met more men in jail with style than men out of jail." "Style is a difference." "A way of doing." "A way of being done." "Six herons, standing quietly in a pool of water," "Or you,... walking naked out of the bathroom... without seeing me." "♪ I was born a survivor... ♪" "♪ And a survivor I will long be... ♪" "♪ For I've learned as a survivor... ♪" "♪ The kind of love that sets love free... ♪" "♪ Warm beds, wild at nights... ♪" "♪ Will wake the day freshly stained... ♪" "♪ I ask so much from my day's nights... ♪" "♪ And I rest in the comfort of woman's ♪ ♪ dark curling... ♪" "Hi!" " You are real?" " Aha" "I am a run away." "And this is my bedroom." "You wont kick me out, will you?" "Oh, don't worry kid." "I can't even find my own way out." "How old are you, anyway?" "Twelve." "Twelve years old, huh?" "Early bloomer." "I was born in Virginia." "Where are you from?" "Los Angeles." "I'm going home tomorrow." "Los Angeles?" "Is that near Hollywood?" "Right next door, little button." "Oh!" "Take me with you!" "I want to go to Hollywood too." "So, what's your name, Ms. Ambitious?" "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." "Serking..." "Mr. Charles Serking." "Nice to meet you, Chuck." "Aha." "Aha!" "That's what I thought." "The tits are too big." "They're, at least, 8 years old a piece." "That adds up to 16." "You liar." "Sometimes, I just say I'm 12." "I can be anything I want." "I'm almost 14, actually." "♪ Rock-a-bye baby, ♪ ♪ on the treetop, ♪" "♪ When the wind blows, ♪ ♪ the cradle will rock, ♪" "♪ When the bough breaks, ♪ ♪ the cradle will fall, ♪" "♪ And down will come baby, ♪ ♪ cradle and all. ♪" "♪ Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm, ♪ ♪ hmm hmm hmm hmm... ♪" "♪ Rock-a-bye baby ♪" "♪ On the tree top ♪" "Love you." "Hey boys!" "You see a girl run out of here?" "With a sleeping bag." "About as tall as a midget." "She stole my ticket." "Yeah." "Thank you." "Thank you." "I come to the conclusion that the touring poet act was a mistake." "But then again my life's been one big one, so I've been told." "Luckily, I had a couple of 50s stashed and bought a bus ticket home." "42 hours and 1,600 miles of concrete later," "I hit the streets of Los Angeles." "Some call it "Lost Angels"." "Me, I was just another one of the 'Losts', back where I belonged." "Back in L.A." "I could have kissed the ground." "I resisted the impulse." "Besides, it was drink I craved and I had to get back to my part of town." "Hollywood." "Everybody thinks it is the playground of the stars, but, they pushed on years ago." "Now it's my kind of place." "Dangerous." "The hardcore turf of pimps, whores, no class rip-off artists... and other shaded types entertaining fantasies too desperate to mention." "Just naked reality, 24 hours a day." "I have always had a love affair with the streets." "Somebody stole my social security check." "I can't buy any grocery without that money." "People have to learn to protect themselves." "Hey Sarah!" "Did you miss me?" "Huh?" "You missed me?" "How are you doing?" "I have your check." "Oh, thank you officer." "Thank you." "Fuck you!" "Just where the hell have you been for the last 6 weeks?" "I'm tired of having to cover your rent and your bar tabs every time you disappear." "I'm tired." "Well then don't do it." "You're not my mother, Vicky." "And you're not my wife any more." "So, get the hell outta here!" "Leave me alone." "I was just trying to help." "Remember what the doctor said the last time you were in the hospital?" "Hey, give that back!" "He said that if you kept on drinking your stomach would rip apart like wet Kleenex." "Cunt!" "Now you owe me for that beer bitch, cough it up." "You're not gonna get another cent, you mother fucker!" "Son of a bitch!" "Hey, hey, hey!" "Okay, okay." "Cut it out." "Cut it out!" "Cut it out." "All I wanted was a couple of bucks." "Not a fist fight." "Waiting on the next tumble of the dice, I made Venice Beach with a six pack and hit the jackpot when I spotted this blonde number." "She was that rare kind who gives you an instant hard-on." "All sexual sleaze with an ass like a wild animal." "My kind of game." "She was radiating heat, putting out signals, and I was hooked." "I followed her." "What the hell else could I do?" "My blood was up." "A blonde lady, tall and sexy..." " does she live here?" " No." "Thank you." "Pardon me, ma'am." "No, I'm not letting you in here." "I don't want you in here." "Get outta here!" "Quiet lady, for Christ's sake!" "Quiet?" "I don't have to be quiet?" "Look, I know why you're here." "You're here to evict me." "Well, you're not gonna do it." "I mean, I don't have anybody." "I'm a widow." "I don't have anyone." "Not a soul." "I don't have any money." "I don't have a cent." "What am I gonna do... do?" "You tell me where that blonde lady lives?" "Sexy looking blonde lady." "Across the court-yard, second door on the right." " Good!" " Thanks!" "For me, and my little boy too." "Right." "Any time." "Do I know you?" "You ought to..." "I'm the guy who has been following you all over the town." "You're killing me." "Hey." "Hey." "Wake up." "Wake up." "Hey." "Hey." "Hey." "What else have you got?" "Okay, okay." "Wait a minute." "Wait a minute, wait a minute, Wait a minute!" "Come here." "Come here." "Come here." "Come here!" "Okay." "Okay." "Quiet." "Quiet." "Quiet honey." "Quiet." "Hold it." "Wait a minute." "What's your name?" "Vera." "Did you enjoy it, Vera?" "Yeah." "I like being raped." "When I got off the bus, I thought you'd lose your nerve." "Most men are cowards in the broad daylight." "Cock teaser." "I want you to be mean to me." "Next time, I want you to use your belt." "I don't wear a belt." "You're gonna have to lend me one." "Come on tiger, whip me." "I want you to beat me before you stick it in." "Look at his little gun!" "Look, if we're gonna keep this up all day, you're gonna have to feed me." "I'm starving." "I'll make you some steak and eggs." "Why don't you go take a nice hot bath while I put it together?" "Then I'm gonna give you a big surprise." "Alright, Casanova, on your feet." "That's him!" "Thats him Officer!" "He forced me to have oral sex with him." "A son of a bitch." "Now get him!" "Get him!" "What did they take you for?" "Violence." "Carnal-Violence." "Carnal-Violence." "She ate me up like an enchilada and spit me into a police car." "The next day, Vera dismissed the charges." "A brand of psycho-drama can make a man a little paranoid." "As far as that goes," "I've always considered a paranoid a man with all the facts." "Besides, I had my ambition to comfort me." "This desire to be unknown, unwanted, and unnoticed." "I wasn't about to chase the great American wet dream." "I'd rather get drunk." "You look at me, Cass." "I am tired of looking at you." "You bitch." "Don't give me your "I'm too beautiful" to bother with routine." "You're nothing but a whore." "Now, get your ass out on the street and sell it." "I told you." "I am not working today." "And that's it." "No baby,... that's not it." "Oh yes, it is." "Stanley, give me another one." "Hey, watch it." "Listen, turn around and mind your own business, asshole!" "I'm talking to the lady here." "I don't care what you're up to with the lady." "Just don't fuck with my drinks." "And while we're on the subject, fuck you!" "No problem, you'll get another one on the house." "You're 86 down." "Now get outta here or i'll call your parole officer." "Marie..." "I'll see you back in the motel." "You cunt!" "Why you sitting next to me?" "I don't know." "Maybe because you're ugly." " And you're beautiful." " Maybe" " Maybe the most beautiful girl in town." " Maybe." "So you think I am pretty, huh?" "Yeah, well, 'pretty' is not the word." "Devestating is more like it." "Jesus Christ!" "Cass?" "I told you not to pull that shit in here." "It's bad for business." "It's my face, isn't it?" "And it's my bar." "You do it again and you're out." "Yeah, he's right." "You shouldn't do that." " What?" " Shouldn't hurt yourself." "Why shouldn't I?" "Because it hurts me." "So, you're one of the sensitive types?" "Yeah, that's right." "Okay." "Buy me a drink." "Then maybe, I'll behave." "Goddamnit!" "She changed the lock." "I can't get in." "You're few months behind." "Stop embarassing me." "Give me the key, please." "No." "Give me the fucking key." "I said 'no'." "We're gonna join my landlady for a drink." "His ex-wife." "Make yourself comfortable." " Want some brandy?" " Aha." " What's your name honey?" " Cass." "Cass." "You want some?" "Thank you." " He used to call me beautiful once." " You're still beautiful." "I'm just an old nymphomaniac." "And I am a whore." "You have an accent." "Where are you from?" "Lots of places." "Where do your parents live?" "They died when I was little." "I grew up in a convent." "Are you gonna give me the key?" " Ayaaaah..." " Are you gonna give me the key?" " Huh?" " You're hurting me." "Goddamnit!" "Crazy man." "Let's go." "Oow!" "What was it like living in the convent?" "I wanna hear all about it." "We'll talk about that later." "I think he wants to fuck." "Good luck." "Love." "You made that up, didn't you?" "Story about the convent." " Maybe." " Maybe?" "You want to make it now or are you gonna be busy all night?" "Let's do it first thing in the morning." "Well... as long as you don't die on me." "I'm not about to die." "Yet." "Love he said." "Kiss me." "Kiss my lips, kiss my hair, my fingers, my cock, my balls, my eyes, my brains." "Make me forget." "See you in the morning." "I'm like that bull out there." "I don't know what I'm gonna do." "You're the only man I have ever known who wasn't in a rush." "Come on lover man." "Love." "Is your mom okay?" "Very very very elegant." "Very elegant." "Huh?" "Get rid of her." "Why should I?" " Why?" " Yeah, why?" "Because I want to fuck you." "I want to be fucked until I have nothing left for the others." "Nothing." "Beautiful." "I get it." "You want me to service you, huh?" "Yeah, fill it up." "Well... you'll have to pay." "Her too!" "Why not?" "I'll even pay for the room." "I'll kill you." "You understand?" "I am paying for this." "Now lay down and take your pants off, slave." "Now give it to me." "Take my soul with your cock." "Cass is in jail." "It's probabaly your fault." "Yeah." "I need a favor lover man." "I got busted for hustling." "And I want you to come down and bail me out, ok?" "I am in County Jail." "Thanks." "You have the money?" "You can go fuck yourself." "Now you are my man..." "forever." "Cass had that special look that got to me." "Like she'd been blown away by the winds of eternity and was swimming back against the currrent." "There was something mysterious going on and I plunged right in." "I was in over my head, my mind kept telling me." "I had to come up for some air." "But, Cass was like a fluid fire and her flesh had already sucked me in." "I had to get away from her before I got burnt." "But that was like trying to climb out of a whirlpool." "Well... hello stranger." "Hey, now." "Don't go away." "I'll be right back." " You ready?" " Just a second." "Hmm." "Good!" "Got any wine?" "A gallon in the cabinet." "Let's see what we've got here." "Ta da ..." "Hmm." "You devil." "Mikey!" "Hi!" " Hey, how was school today?" " Terrible." "Terrific!" "Here, here..." "Go down to the pinball." "I had this friend once." "He had this desire... this obsession to return to his mother's womb." "Then one day... that obsession became a reality." "It's okay..." "It's okay." "Come to me my baby." "Wasn't true." "I made it up." "Ever heard the sound of one mouth screaming?" "I had for years." "My own." "I didn't wanna go home." "I didn't wanna see anybody." "I just needed to be invisible for a few days." "To get down in the dirt." "Booze myself for all the others." "The defeated, the demented, and the damned!" "They're the real people of this world." "And I was proud to be in their company." "Hey!" "You know I was born on the same day as President Reagan?" "I was invited to the White House for the party, but when I got there, they wouldn't let me in." "Yeah." "Well, better luck next year!" "Born on the same day, but, a lot of good it did me." "Aaaah..." "You alright?" "You go ahead and have a drink." "I don't think I can make it." "Where is it?" "Just in the back." "Around the corner." "What's the cover charge?" "It's what you're holding man?" "Come on, sit down." "Thanks." "Next time you get out of here." "Why so quiet?" "Well, nothing much to talk about." "Come on boys." "Cheer up." "Here's to us!" "Mad!" " Mad!" " Sometimes!" " We're all mad." " Sure." "Mad for glory, mad for freedom... and we gone mad can only laugh or cry..." "Oh." "lying to the fake and fact of illusion and insanity." "Uh huh huh huh." "All meaningless..." "All equal." "For all that's madness, madness is our fate." "Hey you!" "Wake up!" "Get out of the car!" "Out!" "Easy." "Easy." "Sorry." "I had one of them nights." "What the fuck do you think I'm running here... a free hotel?" " Son of a bitch!" " Ow!" " Let me do it dad..." "let me." " Go ahead." "Easy..." "Easy." " Don't touch our boy." " Ow!" "Ow!" "Let me kill him dad." "Let me kill him." " Heyyyyaaaa!" " Ow!" "Enough Dale!" "That's enough." "We don't want a lawsuit on our hands." "You are a lucky man." "Get outta here!" "Thanks." "Have a nice day." "I feel like death warmed over." "Oh yeah!" "Let me tell you about death." "I don't wanna know." "As long as you don't believe in God, you got nothing to sweat." "You're just out for the ride." "Death isn't good." "And death isn't bad." "It's just a joker in the deck." "There are worse things anyway." "Like living with someone you don't like." "Or working eight hours on a job you hate." "And that's definitely worse than death." "Get outta here." "What do you want?" "I'm busy." "Out of my way!" "Gotta get my medicine." "What's up Pepito?" "You wouldn't believe how he eats my pussy." "We are getting married next month." "It's ok for you?" "You got any coffee?" "Welcome back stranger." "Well, for a while there, I didn't think I was gonna make it back." "Uh..." "Let's have a club soda." "Oh, I must be hearing bad." "Cass been around?" "Cass?" "Who's Cass?" "But, she's my girl now." " Right Cass?" " Right." "You mind if I borrow your girl for a minute Mike?" "But, she's my girl now." "But, she's my girl now." "You look sensational." "Thanks." "Did you miss me?" "Yes." "I thought about you a lot." "Of what you were doing." "Hmm." "Terrible." "Club soda, for the stomach." "I hustling again." "Oh, I'm sad to hear that." "Life is sad." "So, let's not talk about that." "Let's have a happy moment." "Please!" "Sure why not?" "Who knows, maybe, we'll get lucky." "Are you going to work?" "Work?" "I never work." "You want a little attention, don't you?" "Leave it alone." "Fuck!" "Oh, fuck!" "I tried with a broken bottle one night." "Fuck!" "Kiss me." "Kiss my lips." "My hair." "My fingers." "Make me forget." " Good morning ladies." " Hmm." "This is where I used to write before I got famous." "Saw a wild scene once." "Seagulls dive-bombing a flock of geese." "They were flying South, beating them with their wings." "I thought they wanted to eat them." "They... were doing it... out of meanness." " Anybody in the blue room?" " No" "But, I had to raise the price." "It'll be thirty dollars with your meals." "Wine not included." "Why do you keep doing this to yourself?" "What's the matter?" "Don't you like me anymore?" "Am I not so beautiful?" "Cass you bitch!" "I love you." "You're the most alive woman I've ever met." "Will you marry me?" "Shit!" "I guess I'd fallen asleep after we'd made love again." "Cass had been crying." "She didn't make a sound, but, I could feel the tears." "They were wet and hot." "Pouring from some mortal wound in her soul as she held on to me." "Her long hair spilling out across the sand like a flag of death." "Why the fuck did you take off, leaving me on that sand bar?" "I could've drowned out there." "I can't believe it." "They weren't bullshitting me." "They really want me to come to New York." "Love he said." "Make me forget." "I'll always remember that." "I'll call you from New York tomorrow night." "You stay here." "If things look good, I'll send you a ticket." "Spend some time together." "Maybe your luck's turned around." "Hey." "Hey." "Oh my God!" "Oh my God!" "What the fuck did you do to yourself?" "Huh?" "What did you do?" "I've closed it, for you and for everybody." "Forever!" "Easy baby." "Christ." "Oh, Jesus." "We'd like to think we're an island of calm in the middle of the city," "You know, a place where writers can come and relax, enjoy a bit of solitude." "Marvellous shoes." "Yep!" "I think I got the wrong size." "They're killing my feet." "No problem, we'll get you some new ones." "Yeah, fine." "You mind if we go inside?" "I'm fucking freezing to death." "Sure." "Right this way." "We've got lots of space here." "Yeah, I can see that." "Hi Alexander!" "I'd like you to meet one of our new authors." "Someone we were lucky enough to get out of Russia." "Alexander Koncelovski..." "Charles Serking." "Pleasure!" "Where's your toilet?" "I can't hold it much longer." "Right this way." "Welcome to World Land, Mr. Serking." " Arthur!" " Peter!" "Mr. Strange, I presume." "It's pronounced 'Straunge'." "Joining me in a glass of wine?" "I don't drink, thank you." "Ah, all the more for me then!" "Peter, you sit here I'll sit there." "Okay." "I wanna see our poet." "Shall we eat?" "I realize that all of this is a bit sudden for you." "Coming to New York..." "you know." "Yeah, you can say that again." "Well, I want you to feel comfortable with us." "We've been aware of your work for quiet a while." "And we feel that your time has come." "Maybe." "No maybes about it." "Would you like some quiche?" "No thanks, I can't get anything down this time of the day." "The wine will do fine." "You should know that we are here to help you in our way." "For example, you should stay and work here." "The talent like yours needs other kinds of nourishment." "A lot of attention." "I'm sorry." "No need to be!" "It's an old Chinese custom." "A sign of contentment." "It's been an interesting encounter, wouldn't you say?" "Definitely strange!" "I mean "Straunge"!" " Na... now it's time to see your office..." " It's okay." "It's okay." "Okay." "You speak... you speak" "Beautiful vines." "How long did it take you to grow them?" "Ten years." "You need a doctor, not a publisher, he said." "Fuck you, I said." "That was the end of that." "I was back to square zero." "Here comes the guy who knows everything about women." "Mister know-it-all, right?" "The asshole who knows everything." "Let me tell you something Mister." "You don't know shit!" " Hey, whiskey, Kenny." " All right." "Have you seen Cass?" "Haven't you heard?" "Heard what?" "She killed herself." "How'd she do it?" "She slashed her throat." "Have a little drink" "No." "No!" "This is a desecration!" "Have you no shame?" "You are committing a sacrilege!" "A sacrilege!" " A sacrilege!" " Leave me alone." "Let me say my goodbyes in peace." "You were too beautiful." "Too beautiful." "You were too beautiful." "Too beautiful." "When the bottom drops out, it's a terrifying ride." "Throughout my life," "I'd always challenged the death of the soul of everybody." "The fools, the fiends, the friends, the fakers." "My mouth has always been big, but, I like to think my words are beautiful." "But now, there were no words." "Only emptiness." "And I was blinded by the embers of memory and a million thoughts about the most beautiful girl in town." "She was gone." "Cass." "That whore of an angel who flew too close to the ground and crashed." "I'll take care of him." "I have done before." "Mr Serking." "Mr Serking." "Are you Serking, the man who writes poems?" "I don't write poems." "I am a drunk and I enjoy it." "Will you read me a poem?" "What you will give me for it?" "Where does poetry come from?" "You show me your titties and i'll compose a poem." "Just for you." "Come to my island!" "Come on, come!" "You might know all about poetry, but you don't know the road." "And the Sun wields mercy... but like a torch carried too high." "And the jets whip across its sight... and the rockets leap like toads." "Peace is no longer for some reason precious." "Madness drifts like lilypads on a pond... circling senselessly." "But painters paint... dipping their reds and greens and yellows." "Poets rhyme their loneliness." "Musicians starve as always." "And novelists miss the mark." "But not the pelican,... the gull." "Pelicans dip and dive." "Rise,... shaking, shocked, half-dead... radio-active fish in their beaks." "The sky breaks red and orange." "Flowers open as they have always opened." "But covered with a thin dust... of rocket fuel." "And mushrooms... poison mushrooms." "And in a million rooms... lovers lie entwined... and lost... in sickest peace." "Can't we awaken?" "Must we, forever, dear friends... die in our sleep?"