#Poem 10

May 19th

LA MAMA

a building burns

history goes up in smoke

like Alexander’s library

a rebuild will not bring it back

it’s good bye to that

those walls with ears

each brick an eyeline

each floorboard

some remembered crack

penned by a hack

new minted way back then

squeal of dimmer

churn of urn

a log falls

in the chimney of before

layers of paint on the floor

the time we covered it in sand

played in a band

writhed naked to The Doors

rode a chopper to the door

huddled in darkness on the stairs

sang through the banister

balanced on chairs

made love in a double bed

inches away from the fray

first show-business pay

out out brief candle

of remembered play

life’s but a walking shadow

thrown by a random blaze

small building

tiny space

immense consequence

staged its own cremation

utter devastation.

Remembering La Mama 2018

See also poems read out loud at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9uLwxslE_VQ-fu-Dw6gdIA/playlists

Also https://www.amazon.com.au/Day-At-Time-Rhyme/dp/0648083861/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=A+Day+At+A+Time+In+Rhyme+Jane+Clifton&qid=1572053238&sr=8-1