jj jackman a speckled bird - index
one poem wonder (3/14/01) in popular music we often hear of one hit wonders they top the charts then disappear into oblivion oftentimes this phenomenon occurs to musical theatre stars as well John Raitt equaled Carousel and that was the extent of his career endless days at the clambake hoping that his boy Bill would be tough and as tall as a tree, would Bill, like a tree he'd grow with his head held high and his feet planted firm on the ground* and you know what's funny poets are a unique type of artist with a little bit more pronounced penchant toward the truth i mean why do you think poets don't have mass public acclaim i mean when was the last time you had heard of a poet selling three million copies of his or her cassette in the first week of its release i mean hello, don't we dudes know that most people buy CDs now no, no i don't mean mutual funds no, i mean thirteen dollar and ninety-nine cent circular silver discs with little holes in the middle, why are we releasing cassettes in the first place? might income be a bit of the problem let's accept our lot we're candid more pressing than the press more honest than the clergy i mean even if we're completely off base and worship lunar reflections for example we even give an accurate account of our ritual so what's this kiss up to conformity i mean sales are down the BMW is not waiting in the parking lot our sides are not flanked with chicks or guys as the case may be and most of us are already in the process of traveling to the great void of non-acclaim already but ironically we now have the one poem (pronounced p-owe-m) now we have the one p-owe-m wonder who repeats the same work week after week with an occasional break in between to establish a name for himself or herself as the case may be i mean save us all some fucking aggravation poetry is not entertainment poetry is an affliction a bleeding if you will of a tormented soul i mean don't titillate us with the ice cream in your cone dripping down the penis in her mind poets are straight we're not supposed to get laid after a feature and what ever happened to productive conversation after an evening of verse and coffee no i don't mean reproductive conversation that activity is nearly vain i mean those with powers will clone themselves in the future and all these slams and self promoting contests are the very inversion of our form of creative issue and might i be the first to publicly tell these errant bards to go fuck themselves and i promise to never recite one p-owe-m wonder again in public and yes my boy Bill can get any gift he might from God and i'm convinced that like a tree he'll grow with his head held high and his feet planted firm on the ground and you won't see nobody dare to try to boss him and toss him around not Bill* if his genes lack the ability to order verse!*from Carousel from memory (italics)