a guy didn’t smell too good stopped me
and desperate words rushed out of him like vomit
maybe it’s rude of me
to say this
but after engaging in several years of extensive research
you will hang your head
having thought you could say something
for the first time
I go along
like everything is regular
like everything is run of the mill
but snapping awake
or being the last to lock up
or the wind in the trees
Editor’s Note: This poem first appeared December 6, 2010.
married a long time
work takes me on the road
for a few days
and nights
get home
stomp in the house
say, “I am very glad to see you, baby.”
the weight of the music
is upon me
as I flip through my records
all cattycorner
in styles and years
sad with a ridiculous longing
to crush it all together
in a way that would do
what some sideshow medicine man
would sell
so there I was
minding my own business
and trying to take care of it
out of nowhere
the elephant sat on me
just needing to rest a bit
don’t get me wrong
I do love and financially support
the Netflix Corporation
- we ate out of cans
we let the grass grow
we lived at the end of the street
we wrote earnest and pretentious poetry
we played records late
we painted on the backs of cardboard boxes
we drank on weeknights
we worked low-paying dead end jobs
we shared weed like it was significant
we romanticized the sixties
we were certain Reagan would blow up the world
we did not plan for retirement
she remembers the last five seconds
of what she knows of me
forgetting all the high price cheese
that came before
your point is taken
something about not falling into a rut
and I want you to know
I am totally on board with that baby
no one reads your stuff
or the few who do
don’t really get it
the majesty of the past
is a low dollar delusional comfort
that dislocates my attention
while rolling down the street on my bicycle
so that I don’t even notice
the wind in my face
AT LONG LAST from John Hicks on Vimeo.