HELP ME
My first memory of this song goes back to 1970-something. My parents had an argument that escalated quickly. My mother hurried me into her caramel brown Oldsmobile, and we sped to the house of one of her then-new friends, who she took a ceramics class with. Within minutes of arriving at this person’s home, my mother and her friend were smoking, laughing, and listening to “Help Me” on a splendid Hi-Fi chrome turntable. The song’s title and Ms. Mitchell’s sonorous singing of it seemed to help cast a spell on my mother, as I saw her laugh so hard that she cried. Her friend did, too, and they both asked me if I liked Joni Mitchell. I said yes. Then we all ate our respective weights in Breyers Butter Almond ice cream. Here’s to the ways that music can alleviate pain and tension and transform both into joy. May we all be so fortunate to find something that cures what ails us: a good friend; a great tune; a mouth and belly rejoicing the presence of sweetness; braids of smoke drifting above a shimmering salamander orange ceramic ash tray.
FOUND POEM WITH SANTA CLAUS AND A MARTIAN
Martian Ruler Kimar is upset
that the children
of Mars
are lazy
and under the influence
of too much pop culture
from Earth.
They are obsessed
with the planet’s TV shows
and don’t want
to do much
of anything.
In an attempt
to get the kids
peppy
again, Kimar orders
the kidnapping
of Santa Claus, hoping
that the jolly,
old toymaker will know
how to cheer
the children
up again.
But two
Earth kids are
also abducted,
and this
makes matters worse
for Kimar.
ABACAB
Then there was Genesis. I was introduced to their music by my mother, who worked in the record department of a department store called Korvettes. She brought this album home from work one day and gave it to me, because she thought I’d like Tony Banks’ keyboards in the song Abacab, which she described as “A pulsing conversation starter” in the middle of the LP version of the song. I was amazed: she called it, like Babe Ruth’s famous shot in the 1932 World Series. I also found myself liking Phil Collins’ drumming, especially with how well it complimented Tony’s playing. I can still feel my mother’s smile, growing on my neck like an August sunrise when I played the album, French poodle paw prints blooming on the living room window like strange, sweaty flowers.
ANOTHER FOUND POEM ABOUT A MOVIE I LIKE
The Wanderers are
an Italian American gang
vying for respect
on the streets
of the South Bronx
in 1963.
Between rumbles with rivals such as
The Ducky Boys, The Del Bombers,
and The Fordham Baldies,
the group of tough guys learn
some difficult lessons
about life and love.
Leader Richie Gennaro finds himself
entangled with Despie Galasso,
a mobster’s daughter,
while the artistically inclined Joey
falls hard
for Nina:
a beautiful, smart girl.