Thanx 4 Nothing by John Giorno

on his 70th birthday

The most inspiring poem i heard. On it’s 70th birthday he distilled the essence of a lifetime experience in a 10 minutes poetry Masterpiece.

Please follow the link to listen John Giorno reading his poem for you.

 

John Giorno by Ugo Rondinone @PalaisDeTokyoParis

 

 

I want to give my thanks to everyone for everything,

and as a token of my appreciation,

I want to offer back to you all my good and bad habits

as magnificent priceless jewels,

wish-fulfilling gems satisfying everything you need and want,

thank you, thank you, thank you,

thanks.

 

May every drug I ever took

come back and get you high,

may every glass of vodka and wine I’ve drunk

come back and make you feel really good,

numbing your nerve ends

allowing the natural clarity of your mind to flow free,

may all the suicides be songs of aspiration,

thanks that bad news is always true,

may all the chocolate I ever eaten

come back rushing through your bloodstream

and make you feel happy,

thanks for allowing me to be a poet

a noble effort, doomed, but the only choice.

 

I want to thank you for your kindness and praise,

thanks for celebrating me,

thanks for the resounding applause,

I want to thank you for taking everything for yourself

and giving nothing back,

you were always only self-serving,

thanks for exploiting my big ego

and making me a star for your own benefit,

thanks that you never paid me,

thanks for all the sleaze,

thanks for being  mean and rude

and smiling at my face,

I am happy that you robbed me,

I am happy that you lied

I am happy that you helped me,

thanks, grazie, merci beaucoup.

 

May you smoke a joint with William,

and spend intimate time with his mind,

more profound than any book he wrote,

I give enormous thanks to all my lovers,

beautiful men with brilliant minds,

great artists,

Bob, Jasper, Ugo,

may they come here now

and make love to you,

and may my many other lovers

of totally great sex,

countless lovers

of boundless fabulous sex

countless lovers of boundless fabulous sex

countless lovers of boundless

fabulous sex

in the golden age

of promiscuity

may they all come here now,

and make love to you,

if you want,

may each of them

hold each of you in their arms

balling

to your hearts

delight.

balling to your hearts

delight

balling to

your hearts delight

balling to your hearts delight.

 

May all the people who are dead

Allen, Brion, Lita, Jack,

and I do not miss any of you

I don’t miss any of them,

no nostalgia,

it was wonderful we loved each other

but I don’t want any of them back,

now, if any of you

are attracted to any of them,

may they come back from the dead,

and do whatever is your pleasure,

may they multiply,

and be the slaves

of whomever wants them,

fulfilling your every wish and desire,

(but you won’t want them as masters,

as they’re demons),

may Andy come here

fall in love with you

and make each of you a superstar,

everyone can have

Andy.

everyone can

have Andy.

everyone can have Andy,

everyone can have an Andy.

Huge hugs to the friends who betrayed me,

every friend became an enemy,

sooner or later,

I am delighted you are vacuum cleaners

sucking everything into your dirt bags,

you are none other than a reflection of my mind.

 

Thanks for the depression problem

and feeling like suicide

everyday of my life,

and now that I’m seventy,

I am happily almost there.

 

Twenty billion years ago,

in the primordial wisdom soup

beyond comprehension and indescribable,

something without substance moved slightly,

and became something imperceptible,

moved again and became something invisible,

moved again and produced a particle and particles,

moved again and became a quark,

again and became quarks,

moved again and again and became protons and neutrons,

and the twelve dimensions of space,

tiny fire balls of primordial energy

bits tossed back and forth

in a game of catch between particles,

transmitting electromagnetic light

and going fast, 40 million times a second,

where the pebble hits the water,

that is where the trouble began,

something without substance became something with substance,

why did it happen?

because something substance less

had a feeling of missing out on something,

not

getting it

was not getting  it

not getting it,

not getting it,

imperceptibly not having something

when there was nothing to have,

clinging to a notion of reality;

from the primordially endless potential,

to modern day reality,

twenty billion years later,

has produced me,

gave birth to me and my stupid grasping mind,

made me and you and my grasping mind.

 

May Rinpoche and all the great Tibetan teachers who loved me,

come back and love you more,

hold you in their wisdom hearts,

bathe you in all-pervasive compassion,

give you pith instructions,

and may you with the diligence of Olympic athletes

do meditation practice,

and may you with direct confidence

realize the true nature of mind.

 

America, thanks for the neglect,

I did it without you,

let us celebrate poetic justice,

you and I never were,

never tried to do anything,

and never succeeded,

I want to thank you for introducing me to

the face of the naked mind,

thanx 4 nothing.

2007 – John Giorno