any way the wind blows by Jordan Boyd

      Ernesto De Quesada CC



any way the wind blows

he’s just a poor boy from a poor family                                                                             
 and I can’t remember his name at all                                                                               
 just a few little gestures    
between dark and light        
the wink of a right eye  
the sour pucker of thin brown lips
​raised eyebrows as if question                                                                                          
and a pint of Jack Daniels
in left hand as he twists back                
my palm secures the half empty full bottle
as if to say
yes                                                                                                                             
I search for the calm in cringe as you
easy come                                                                                                       
easy go                                                                                                                        
and yes                                                                                                                           
I do know some of the words to Bohemian Rhapsody as you
caught in a landslide                                                                                                
no escape from reality                                                                          
slurring song in unison with the radio and a stranger       
the right side of his mouth a little higher when he winks
whatever his name is                                            
deep wrinkles around his eyes
from of all the nights we never knew each other
the glass bottle back against my puckered smile                                                    
singing the same words together as the air we breathe
I see a silhouette of a man                                                                                            
thunderbolt and lighting   

​

Jordan Boyd is an artist and educator living in Oakland, California

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