I was painting a still life this morningOf a throat lozenge sitting on a copyOf Tropic of CancerThe only thing weird about itIs that a year ago,I never thought I’d paint anything againI decided I wasn’t ever gonna paint againIt didn’t bother me too muchWarhol’s dead,David Hockney’s still aliveI don’t need to paintI painted over ten thousand paintingsSad ones, funny ones, dark ones, and light onesI’ve done haystacksAnd rich old ladies by their poolsWearing nothing but a scarfI’ve painted everything there was to paintNow it was time to sit backGive interviewsHang out at club medGet on the internetTake stock of what I’ve doneYou know, the best friend I ever had was a dogIt sounds like a cliche unless it’s happened to youSome days that dog was the only reason I even got out of bedThat dog went everywhere with meAnd then I heard the crack addictsWere stealin’ dogs and selling them for animal researchIt sounded like an urban myth to meLike the mouse in the Coke bottleBut I started leavin’ her at home after thatYou know, Paula was my wife for a whileShe ran off to Paris with the great grandson of Van GoghA cartoonist who did fashion graphics for Le MondeWhen Paula left she took my dogI never saw her againExcept in the court during the custody battleShe won and got to keep the dogAnd I didn’t speak to anyone for monthsYou know sometimes it feelsLike there’s so much that you needSometimes the world is upside downSometimes it feelsLike the only thing you needIs holdin’ someone’s hand as you walk through townI started hanging around with Dino-aca