Rob puts his sticks beneath his
Folded arm
He studies the chart.
He is playing with the verve
Gusto
Drive
That is a person
In love with rhythm.
John blows a horn
Sends waves of sound
Suzi sings and
Collects the leaves
Of quarternotes
Falling all around her:
Simply by closing her eyes.
Music is coming.
Can’t you hear it?
Can you remember
What it feels like
To have your bones
Stirred up
To the passion
Of blood pumping
Feet stamping
You can’t control those feet!
You gotta MOVE!
You are moving
And dancing
And now you are laughing
And throwing everything
Out of your pockets…
Those old nickels
And gum wrappers
And…whoa!…There go your
CREDIT CARDS
You slap your knee
Your knee that is bouncing
Like a baby in the air
Up
Down
Up
Down
The music is SO RIGHT ON!
You can’t get enough of it!
The horn wraps inside your
brain and you
shout out in time,
you sing along to
a song
you don’t even know
and you don’t even care!!!
Cuz you are changing the
Dollar!
You are bending the coin
!
You are sharing the
Moment
Of this moment
And you are diggin’ it, man!
You are really
Truly
All about this sound
This crazy sound
That makes you
bellow with JOY
Makes you shake
You old skeleton, you!
You old flesh and life
Shakin’ it like you just don’t care!
And now people are runnin’
Out of their houses…
Onto the back lot
They see this music,
Daddy!
Like a painting in the air,
Mama!
Van Gogh…everywhere!
Matisse!
Gaugain!
Grab the colors!
Climb aboard!
Everyone…cleaning out their
pockets!
A Musical cornucopia!
Money is on the ground
Swirling in ladies’ hair
Caught up in the trees
Stuck to walls,
Whoa! Yea!!!
And…No one cares
About the damn old money!
Shake it, baby, shake it!
The music is returning
In bits and pieces
Until full throttle
Even the president
(Whoever that might be)
Will be shakin’ it out
On the WHITE HOUSE LAWN!
Mouth open wide,
An operatic thrill from inside,
Singing:
“I hear the impoverished
And we are ending it now!
I see the fatigue, the woe, the
hopelessness…
And it is ENOUGH!
It is time to DANCE, everybody,
Time to SHAKE IT OUT!
Feel that beat?
That is the eternal heartbeat!
And it is GROOVIN, it is
The Master Pressure Cooker
Boiling up with
The Sounds We have Forgotten
And It Is ROCKIN’
And Now is the Time…
Right now!”
Out of your chair!
Crank that music!
Rid yourself of those burdens
Keeping you from taking
Your neighbor fresh cut
Rosemary and Thyme
Get on board!
The train’s a comin’!
There is no bend..
Except the one that
You are shifting
And shimmying
And sighing,
“Thank God, almighty, Thank God…
Free at Last!”
Sara Hickman
8:35 a.m.
10/15/08