Delta Blues, No. 2

“Don’t be afraid, you’re already dead.” Akron/family


Everybody’s talking backwards
just like in real life, pouring gallons.

A painter and a bluesman looking
for anesthesia at the bottom of a bottle.

Piss-drunk dad calls up his ex
to negotiate child support.

I have a problem with my hair
in that it keeps growing.

Been dreaming about drowning dogs
and crashing blue whales.

If the plane starts again out of the ashes
it’s only because we know it should.

There’s a control tower, a flight path,
darkness and light always in concert.

Some flooding in the rust belt.
People sweating.

A child sings, and that’s where hell resides.
You’re grounded, but one time you flew.