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The Day the Music Died
“Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye,
singin’ ‘this will be the day I die’”--Don McClean.
Here I lie,
far from spry,
just the aged aged man
stroking my paper-thin
crepe-skin,
muscles carrying a load
of pain down the long road.
I can’t get up.
plagued with pressure blisters,
and i resent staying down,
my face blinking
from a smile to a frown,
like a tired neon beer sign.
There is a covey of owls
calling my name,
so it seems there will be
no more sunrises for me.
But stuck in my cortex
like gum on your sole,
I hear another refrain:
You cannot move beyond the veil
until you solve the “Four Riddles”
Who am I?
I have appeared
in so many guises,
what was my favorite role?
Perhaps it was just
being an Actor.
Why am I here?
Did I ever identify or
embrace a purpose?
Poet?
Clown?
Trickster,
Lover,
Narcissist?
Asshole?
Teacher,
Dreamer
Friend?
Son,
Brother,
Husband?
Do I have regrets?
Of course, my divers regrets
come in battalions,
in angry swarms,
in convoys,
but even so, I know
my joys mantle any negativity,
as my vulnerable pride
stands naked in the square.
What comes next?
After a brief dirt nap,
I will chill in a way station,
adjusting my spirit,
before perhaps going
on a guided stroll
toward the light,
before boarding a bullet train,
with seven stops
in different Heavens,
one in Bardo,
and one in Valhalla.
I have never been a singer, but right now
I feel like singing a dirge, a death song,
just some kind of a strange wild song
never heard before, singing
in a stentorian silent voice
without moving my lips.
It is time for the universe
to make room for one more
beautiful molecule
in a comet’s tail
Glenn Buttkus
Posted over at dx'Verse Poet's Pub
I chose The Aged Aged Man, Four Riddles, and A Strange Wild Wind.
7 comments:
This one deserves a standing ovation! There is so much emotion and depth here! I am especially moved by this particular bit; "I have never been a singer but right now I feel like singing a dirge." Thank you so much for writing to the prompt, Glenn 💝💝
This was metaphysically wonderful, full of things that got my zen buzz goin’ my friend. I think I am getting off for a bit in Xanadu to stretch my chakras — maybe chase down ONJ for a little mind/body Tête-à-tête.
Searing, intimate, really a cerse one can relate to....stunning stuff Glenn...like a tired neon beer sign.....what a line, at a line..
Glenn, this is truly remarkable. It took my breath away and my heart dropped as well in certain parts when I can feel so much in this poem. It is entwined with the strangeness and familiarity only intimacy can provide in different measures of pain and love. Absolutely incredible, I don't know what else I can say to delineate how stunned I feel after reading this. The part where you listed the roles you play throughout life, it made me wonder my own and how the space around us is vitalized to an ongoing story, with a role we play(ed) in different lives we cross.
I also found these lines to be so heart-wrenching and evocative:
"There is a covey of owls
calling my name,
so it seems there will be
no more sunrises for me."
Mesmerizing.
Oh Glenn I hope this is not your last poem... but if it would be, it truly paints the image of an ager mand coming to the end of the road... so many good questions, with even more answers.
Glenn thank you for sharing what's in you at this moment. My friend you are an ongoing source of wonder and inspiration to me. I can see you there in the tail of the comet right now.
Glenn, this may be the most real most authentic most sincere most true poem I've read in a while.
-David [ben Alexander]
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