I'll Be In The Stonework

I'll Be In The Stonework
by
Jim Stedman

Amplified prayers rising out of the dust
masking the City of the Dead
and I watch either sunrise, bringing slow detail
to the bald, scarred, broken-nosed face of Neal Cassady
impersonating the sphynx
or I watch sunset, robbing from me
same details, leaving behind nothing
but khamseen ashes
and the fading echo calling all to Allah.

The cinder block wall I've proclaimed
as nemesis,
that enigma which I oft approach
but never conquer
traces back to that desert moment --
and the only time I've ever considered death as an out.
But death doesn't work for me
and the fear that I'd miss something
or that people would be able to talk behind my back
forever
was enough to keep me 'round,
regarding the cinder block obstacles
the bars to my imposed prison
the eternal-suffering gaze in the stonework.

Amplified prayers rising out of the dust
masking my real reason for squatting here
scribing a scratched line in the hard-baked earth,
trying to recall the details, all but disappeared
"like the ghost in Aubrey"
and considering what it is that will remain behind as evidence
beyond the ahes, the khamseen ashes,
and the static-charged invitation to glory.

... Jim Stedman

BIO: Jim Steadman

E9. Try it some time.

Old-style jukeboxes offer selections designated by letter and number, and the way to test whether you're in the vicinity of a good jukebox is to play E9. For some reason, the songs residing at E9, be it at Salivars at Montauk Point, The Mermaid Hotel in Mombasa, or Chicago's grand old Congress Hotel, always seem to tie directly to my life. At E9, you're sure to find smatterings of old style folk and bluegrass guitar playing, a nice dose of Dylan and Dead, and those swing & torch standards that so often fuel dreams. Listen closely to E9, and you'll hear "Two For The Road", "Imagination", "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", and "One For My Baby and One More For The Road". Look quickly and you'll see me ghosting around, waiting for the last chords, slowly putting on my overcoat, and heading out into the snow on my own.

Jsteds@aol.com