I’m sorry
Jimi Hendrix died
before you finished
cross the busy street.
It’s a shame
we’ll never hear
his jam with Sun Ra
on Saturn.
But the man’s been
dead since 1970
and you’re still
on the traffic island
waiting for the
light to change
with the right music.
Cars no longer
have fins
and drivers flip
you quarters
or flip you off
as they drive by.
The jokes you
know get you
slapped
kicked and punched.
in the face.
No one listens to
Canned Heat anymore
except for toothless harmonica players
who keep getting
run over because
they keep playing
on the road again.
Hendrix lives
on in the
the memory cloud
of perfection
yet his guitar still goes
out of tune and
stays that way
on Band of Gypsies.
Go ahead and
press the button
and cross
with the light,
step into the light,
be like bear foot Paul
crossing Abbey Road
when he came back
from an exaggerated demise.
You don’t need
all that luggage,
you just
get on board
.
Ted Burke
Picture Nick Victor
.