She is two years old
And playing with firetrucks and steam engines
Sitting knee deep in Barbie doll-clothes
Crayon wax mixed with the sweat on her fingertips
Now,
Bottle tops to bottle necks
Her body dressed for nakedness
Now, the Crayola-covered skin nineteen years dead
Nerves paved with tar
Now, she remembers herself at twelve years old
Practicing with candy cigarettes smoked and eaten
Now, her bad habits sprinkled on the floor
Torn underwear mascara rabbit’s feet and lead-stained phone numbers
What it is to be big, to feel varicose veins
Hiding beneath the surface of the skin
A lover without a face
A steady job at the call center
That is being old
That is being alive
Poet Douglas Kearney and composer/producer/drummer Val Jeanty link up for a a compelling LP that feels like the written word come to life. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 30, 2021