Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Why the catbird sings April 2012


 
She lays her life out

like a road map

we drink,

Not quite covering

The same landscape

We went over

During that walk

After the diner,

Filling in details

like a paint by numbers work of art

coloring in the spaces

she had only sketched.

She does most of the talking

I don’t know what to say,

Singer, actor, poet

Lola in Damned Yankees

(whatever Lola wants

Lola gets)

Dorothy in Wizard of Oz,

Arm in arm with men

Lacking brain, heart or courage,

The crooner from the Apollo,

The prize student of a teacher

Who loved her,

Almost as much as we do,

Dredging up The Police song

Young teacher etc,

She on the road to greatness

Even now, even here,

Even with me,

A catbird singing only briefly

In this cage,

looking to fly high,

with me,

here,

in this bar,

on this night,

clinging to her tailfeathers.

 

email to Al Sullivan

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