songanddancegirl

MY MOTHER CAN’T HELP

MY  MOTHER  CAN’T  HELP        HERSELF

So how can she help   me?   sneers my  3  o’clock

She has many adult problems  it’s true    And

deep down inside she does   love you

But  like the Barbie’s in the playroom her babies are      removable     featureless

Made so by years in crack houses & motels    where

smoke from the  last  fire   poured under the bathroom

door    Leaving you with an obsession for firemen  & keys

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*Grief studies have shown that the loss of a parent is akin to the loss of a limb

where the   phantom limb    continues to throb     inexplicably

Winter  2013

MARLBORO MAN

MARLBORO  MAN

He lived in this neighbourhood

where I have stopped   for tea

He had steelblue  eyes and was

from Calgary     His command of

language was wanting     but I

overlooked it     ditto his lack of

moral fibre    His father had kept him

under the trailer   where he licked his

wounds at night    And his brother who

was missing a middle finger   baptized me

in the Bow River    so I would know that         I was alive

..You live your life in a plastic bag babe         in a plastic bag..

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Winter  2013

BUFFALO GIRL

BUFFALO  GIRL     WON’T  YOU  COME  OUT  TONIGHT

Looks like she lives in her   cab

Grown mean ’cause her dream

has turned    Southern Gothic

She is grimy and talkative   and      lonely

Enchanted by the   idea   of New Orleans

at 16         Came down after high school

her cab now a shrine      where the smell

of shrimp wafts up      off of  blue vinyl

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Buffalo gals, won’t you come out tonight?

Come out tonight, Come out tonight?

Buffalo gals, won’t you come out tonight,

And dance by the light of the moon.

(1844    John Hodges)

Winter 2013      For  Illinois Atkins    & the City that care forgot

THE LAND OF MILK

THE  LAND  OF  MILK  AND  HONEY         HONEY

Going on holiday is like winning the lottery

All of  a sudden you have a wallet full of foreign

money    You eat brunch everyday  & dinner with

a reservation at night    Handsome men call you    honey

And cocktails called  Bitches Brew  await you

But so does your plane  home    Where multitudes

of baby carpenter ants are hatching  and the dog

out back is barking     a brand new tune

And soon  you won’t have to pinch yourself to know       you’re awake

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Winter  2013

MOMMY DEAREST

MOMMY  DEAREST

She nestled her head into the Barbie’s

shoulder   cooing like a dove   The doll

had just  given birth  to a baby   who

almost died    You are so lucky  she       squeaked

Grief seeping out the corners of her eyes

All my mother’s 13 children are lucky to be alive

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Winter  2013

THOSE LIPS

THOSE  LIPS  WERE  MADE  FOR    BLOWING  KISSES

She’s lovely   with horrible posture  back sways

like a sail   All else is perfect   boots  red dress     trench with 26 neat rows of buttons

Now sweeping breckgirl hair   into a chignon

Where do creatures like this repair to when the

night weasels  come?   I’m skeptical  I’m skeptical

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Winter  2013    Galleria  Italia   A.G.O.

A VOODOO SEPULCHRE

A  VOODOO  SEPULCHRE  WHERE EVERYONE CALLS YOU   BABY

Kirina Zabete cast a spell on me   Kirina of the

flaming hair  &  luscious lip    Handmaiden to

Marie Laveau   Voodoo Queen of New Orleans

Saw me walking down  Decatur St. swaying to

the beat   of a 2nd line following close behind   me

Now I find myself wandering aimlessly  searching for

Marie Laveau    getting way too close to the precipice           wondering if I will ever

go home

*the Transfiguration of   Songanddancegirl  &  Mac Rebennack

Winter  2012    N.O.L.A.

You can check in anytime  but you can never leave

DRINK A LITTLE POISON

DRINK  A  LITTLE  POISON   ‘FORE  YOU DIE

It’s a blur   my New Orleans holiday

Every memory  in motion:   walking  people  margarita  grits  

walking  people  margarita  grits    blues

Big Chief of the nation wild wild creation     walking  people  margarita  grits  blues

Big man with black cape   envelops me

I love you baby  he croons      Now stuck

inside of   said cape    wishing I might

never escape      Dr. Feelgood’s embrace

walking  people  margarita  grits  blues      magnolias

Winter 2012 New Orleans LA  For Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & The Wild Magnolias 

BACCHANAL BLUES

BACCHANAL  BLUES

I did not come  to the Delta to

sit around on Satsuma crates

drinking beer   I came   here

to commune with Becky Thatcher

And bring me back some Voodoo mojo     stowed   in my   white-ass soul

But my bro & his ho   have their hearts

set on another  Ghostrider     Here in

this broken down beer garden  next to

an empty naval base   in a no-whitey zone

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Winter  2012  Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits 600 Poland Ave.  New Orleans