the blues
this year the blues have taken hold of me
Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Blake
Blind Willie Johnson, Reverend Gary Davis
the crackly ancient sound of steel strings
reproduced in modern ones and zeroes
like the Dead Sea Scrolls on a Kindle
I’m working through a book by Leroi Jones
about the direct route from slavery
to this ultimately emancipatory music
starting tomorrow I’ll be in an old house
no furniture, no dishes in the cupboards
but as I sit on the floor and strum my ukulele
my blues will be happy blues
1 October 2013
State College, PA
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