To listen to Tom Waits read it, go to: Hear Nirvana on youtube
not much chance,
completely cut loose from purpose,
he was a young man riding a bus
through North Carolina
on the wat to somewhere
and it began to snow
and the bus stopped
at a little cafe in the hills
and the passengers entered.
he sat at the counter
with the others,
he ordered and the
food arived.
the meal was
particularly good
and the coffee.
the waitress was
unlike the women
he had known.
she was unaffected,
there was a natural
humor which came from her.
the fry cook said crazy things.
the dishwasher.
in back, laughed,
a good clean pleasant laugh.
the young man watched
the snow through the windows.
he wanted to stay in that cafe
forever.
the curious feeling
swam through him
that everything
was beautiful there,
that it would always
stay beautiful there.
then the bus driver
told the passengers
that it was time
to board.
the young man
thought, I'll just sit
here, I'll just stay
here.
but then
he rose and followed
the others into the
bus.
he found his seat
and looked at the cafe
through the bus
window.
then the bus moved
off, down a curve,
downward, out of
the hills.
the young man
looked straight forward.
he heard the other
passengers speaking
of other things,
or they were reading or
attempting to sleep.
they had not
noticed the magic.
the young man
put his head to
one side,
closed his eyes,
pretended to sleep.
there was nothing
else to do-
just to listen to the
sound of the engine,
the sound of the
tires in the snow.
