11.6.2006

Arising


there’s a moon glowing against stars faint,
shadows in the night sky that cover
trees and traintracks and a fence
that covers a circle, made up
of four boys and a plan

and it’s oneboy’s first time
so it’s a real celebration,
the party of the century no
fuck that man! of the millennium! so just
make sure you breathe real deep twice
and then once again and then
make realsure it’s moving counterclockwise
just like Elvis said, man, legitimate.

so there it is, oneboy’s shaking now
starting to feel it down in the knees Hey!
you good, man? hey! tell him he’s okay
forChristssake give him a coat to wear
before he falls the fuck over hold him now
he’s starting to feel it

now he’s shaking it out now
from the knees now
the elbows now the wrists now the fingers now
he’s reaching,
ready for one more, just one more
and there it is

burning sweetly, like the time
he was at the concert and all the chords made
eternal, absolute sense right there
in his chest like God breathing inside
and he didn’t notice

but while they’ve been standing under the trees
the stars got brighter turnedshiftedtilted just for him
and now there are Words forming on his tongue,
round and full like goblets of Mountain Dew Hey!
you good, man? good. when you’re good
i’m good and likewise and right now
i’m so good that i think i could be President,
man, i think i am.

it’s absence and maybe cold that leads the boys
inside to where the lights are
rubber and the walls are electric and even
though he’s trying as hard as he can
oneboy can’t keepquiet spilling over
with the joy of the world and teeth
that glow with knowledge he aches to share
with every stranger he meets tonight

but it’s early, the halls are empty and he’s stuck
watching television and waiting
for the right reason to leave until
accidentally
he turns to the mirror and says hey,
guys, look at me, i’m beautiful,
i’m Jimi Hendrix,
i’m John Lennon,
i’m Bob Dylan,
i’m Kanye West,
i’m everybody you’ve ever known and i’m
everybody you’re ever going to meet
and i just want to let you guys know
i respect you with every atom of who i am,
and i will forever, and i mean that.

and before anybody can thank him or worse
he gets his coat and walks down
the hall, humming a tune he’s heard before,
but isn’t sure where. he’s out the door and he can
see sunwhispers through the trees, and a circle
in the grass by the traintracks
where oneboy used to stand.