portrait of this blog's author - by Stephen Blackman 2008

Thursday, November 25, 2021

Poem of the Day - Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) -

 

'Wrought Iron Cactus' - Don Van Vliet 1991.

Sam with the showing scalp flat top,

particular about the point it made.

Why, when I was knee-high to a grasshopper,

this black juice came out on a hard shelled chin.

And they called that ‘tobacco juice’.

I used to fiddle with my back feet music for a black onyx.

My entire room absorbed every echo.

The music was… thud like. The music was… thud like.

I usually played such things as rough-neck and thug.

Opaque melodies that would bug most people.

Music from the other side of the fence.

A black swan figurine lay on all color lily pads.

On a little conglomeration table of pressed black felt.

With same color shadows, and obscene knob knees and what-nots.

The long hallway rolled out into oddball odd.

Beside the fly-pecked black doorway,

that looked closed on the tar-lattice street.

Up a wrought iron fire escape.

Rolled out a tiny wooden platform with

dark, hard, dark rubber wheels.

Roll, skreek! Roll, skreek! Roll, skreek!

Sam with the showing scalp flat top,

particular about the point it made.

Sam was a BASKET CASE!


A hardened dark ivory clip held 

saleable everyday pencils.

I wish I had a pair ‘o bongos!

Bongo Fury! Bongo Fury!


(1975) 


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