by Akin Jeje
Hearts can be broken,
Wide open, Proud Mary,
Not out of spite,
Like Ike Ike Ike,
We simply, utterly believed in your
Indomitability, from the time
You were Annie Mae from Tennessee.
We never needed another hero,
You were Ground Zero,
Who can no longer show the way-
You already left for home.
Love had everything to do with it,
Sped your limits way past
Nutbush City, beyond the Thunderdome,
Made you refuse to feel pity against
Blows, kicks, roars, fists in a house that was not a home.
A sweet old-fashioned notion kept you in motion,
Rollin’, rollin’ rollin’ down the river,
Even when it threatened to capsize, Queen.
You traveled forth on your own steam.
In a dream, we swayed together, Private Dancer,
The electric that sparked when you used to shake
Came a powerful current through my stream,
‘Cause it was only love- that’s all.
I did what you wanted me to do,
Revel in thunderous hip-jangling joy,
Snuggle close against the heated drench
Of a quiet storm, duet keen and sharp
Amidst a buzzing swarm, rejuvenated,
Rejoiced, reborn.
Love had everything to do with it,
You were simply the best,
Nam myoho renge kyo,
Better than all the…
Rest, Queen. Rest. Rest, Rest.
KQ’s Literature Director, and Canadian poet, Akin Jeje, has featured his work internationally, including Hong Kong where he lives. In addition to the Kinsman Quarterly, Jeje is a regular contributor to Cha: An Asian Literary Journal. His first collection, Smoked Pearl, was published in 2010 and long listed for the 2009 International Proverse Prize.
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