Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Poem for Wednesday, July 15, 2009


Hump Day Melody

A lonely musician perched
atop a stool (a lonely
                       wooden stool)
faced the Wednesday night
crowd
          (20 people; 13 sober)

His silhouette crept
above him in dim
incandescence, eaten and
regurgitated by others'
shadows when they
                           stood up to
                           go piss

"This next one,"
he mumbled, "reminds me
of my father; he's a great
man," he mumbled, "a
helluva man" and

he plucked his way
right into a James Taylor
song
       (they all sound the same)
played
some chords, aroused a response
from a man

He agreed
the song reminded him of
his father also, so the
two drank together through
closing time

All the chairs
stacked
to make room for dust
                                (beneath the tables)

2 comments:

  1. My favorite line is the second stanza: epiphany (I have an audience!) to plop (they're either ignoring me or stealing my spotlight). I can picture the scene vividly. So good!

    ReplyDelete
  2. i like conversational poetry. and this sounds like something you might tell me over a beer.

    also, the final stanza is excellent. my favorite i think.

    ReplyDelete