Tuesday Poem - Songs for Paul by Ian McBryde

Songs for Paul

Beware the fury of a patient man.

John Dryden

1.

Handsome as Adam in your car mirror,

leaves from the clearing still stuck

to the back of your jacket.

2.

That got your nose open didn’t it?

Her scratches on your back. The sweet

rank pussy smell on you as you swagger

into the café, looking around, head held high.

3.

You dream of nipples, music. What is it she likes,

Mozart, Beethoven? Something like that.

4.

The highway. All those radio songs written

too late to help you. Illinois, Virginia,

the Carolinas. That skinny blonde

who stole your wallet afterwards.

5.

Late May.

Guess she’s had the kid by now.

Little bastard.

6.

Whiskey helps. Another bottle helps even more.

7.

Onscreen at the drive-in there’s always some girl

who falls and twists her ankle. She’ll be scared, pausing

on unlit stairs as your new date wipes her mouth and

zips you up. The car reeks of popcorn, beer, semen.

8.

You dream of an empty theatre, you alone in the seats

waiting for you to come onstage.

9.

The boys at the factory will love it. You can tell them

you were at it all night, and how she wept when you left.

10.

One day you will stare into another cheap motel mirror

at the face of an out-of-breath, fat stranger.

11.

She never did come back.

12.

It is already too late for the magic you once laughed at.

13.

No cheating now. Spell rescue. Don’t look.

Spell ruin. Spell empty well. Spell memory.



This poem comes from Ian McBryde's recent book The Adoption Order published by 5 Islands Press.
http://www.fiveislandspress.com/IMB.html
I love Ian's work and he is such a powerful performer. He's from Canada but he has adopted Melbourne and Melbourne has adopted him.