Mike Doughty
"Down On The River By The Sugar Plant"


All of the girls out with their hips asway
And I’m the loneliest man
They’re selling incense and sunglasses on Orchard Street
Boatloads of bootleg Sean John

And I’ll dream you up in this vast, dark bed
Believe I loved you for each hair upon the back of your neck, and I
Want to kiss you but I can’t
Down on the river by the sugar plant

Earrings
Weighing down the lobe and
Nose a lovely slope and the mouth turned down
Shoulders
Pale and beautiful and
Angle of the throat and
Your sweet sad stare

All of the waves that crash upon the shore
Fruitlessly shushing the world
I pledge allegiance to my displacement
My flag of doubt is unfurled

And I’ll dream you up on a vast, dark coast
Believe I see you walking toward me, arms outstretched like a Ghost, and I
Want to kiss you but I can’t
Down on the river by the sugar plant