Good morning, y’all.
I figured I’d start my day reading poems to all the ticks—there’re so many out right now. This one is called “hamburger.” It was originally published in Home Planet News a couple weeks ago.
Thanks for looking/listening.
All the best,
A.S. Coomer
© A.S. Coomer
i’m a harmony at best
a leaky faucet
dripping a bastard’s backbeat
some flesh for my bones to carry like a tune
my bones that click & clink like cheap wooden wind-chimes
my teeth that scrape like rusted spoons
& the heart in my brain breaks
the heart in my chest skips
& i’m left singing these
hard-hearted blues
–
james brown said
never miss the one
you can do whatever you want
but you come with it on the one
& i wonder how much he would’ve fined me
if i had the good fortune of being in his band
they would’ve nicknamed me “hamburger”
from all the ass-chewings i’d’ve gotten
–
i’m not saying i can’t keep time
i’m saying life’s too short to be in a cover band
–
for this solo i’m the whispering breeze
kissing the sweaty crooks behind your knees
september’s last breath inhaled & held
like the best smoke you’ve ever had
–
does the whip-poor-will savor these songs?
would the woodpecker understand the rhythm?
only the hummingbird can rewind the tape
only the owl understands the weight of night
–
we’re an old house still settling
squeaking to ourselves like stairs
reverberating like musicians
getting to know each other
the shifting of the melody
between instruments
how many instruments we all carry
& forget we know how to play
& forget we love
& though our foundation will crack
may the crumble be the rumble of the kick drum
may the echo of our song move others to sing along
Categories: Literature, Poem, Poetry, Video
