The Farmer's Hotel

The lights went out in New York Then they went out in Goshen I got stuck in Goshen and that was sad The townsolf stared hard Like their minds had been marred By life in a district so downtrodden and drab I flagged down a stranger In a worn wooden wheelchair And when I asked if he knew of a hotel He said "if I get your meaning Then I'm definitely leaning Towards recommending the Farmer's Hotel." As I left to find the place A mother loooked me in the face And whispered "please sir, not the Farmer's Hotel." Once where I was headed She swore I would regret it Though what might happen she wouldn't foretell The old place it was vicious Wicked and pernicious "Please stay clean of that rank abbatoir" Though her words alarmed me I was stuck until morning And in the end we must be who we are With no light on the door I wasn't quite sure If a night clerk was working within From behind a red curtain Limped a perilous person He appeared to have some egg on his chin This old yankee warlock Brushed back a gray forelock And bid me to sign in the book With no bonhomie He proffered the key Never once did he give me a look I thanked the old codger And in my role as the lodger I headed upstairs for to sleep There was no air of slumber The doors, they had no numbers Which room was intended for me? The passage kept on going Like the carpet was flowing Towards that thing at the end of the hall My own eyed had adjusted This account can be trusted Because I know that I saw what I saw I heard animal noises And tangled up voices Chanting more and of rumors of more There's no natural law That can explain what I saw Spread out on that straw-covered floor Now I've put an ocean Between myself and Goshen To get away from the Farmer's Hotel If you get a nation To travel to Goshen Please stay away from the Farmer's Hotel The lights went out in Goshen Just like poetry in motion And I checked into the Farmer's Hotel Things to unclean Are better left unseen Please keep away from the Farmer's Hotel