Broadway Bound
….
In my other life I carried a switchblade,
lived in a rundown West Side tenement,
my greasy hair combed in a cool DA.
Strutting down the alley, this delinquent
would start a rumble, then plead I’m innocent
when nabbed by kindly Sergeant Krupke.
To my chagrin, Sister had all the talent –
as she frequently reminded me,
I lacked any trace of musical ability.
But while Betsy banged on the piano,
we sang together a joyous cacophony
of sharps and flats and traumatized notes:
We’re disturbed! We’re psychologic’ly disturbed!
The next door neighbors no doubt concurred.
…..
This poem is from the book The Boxwood Maze by Jim Smith (Finishing Line Press), and can be found at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/the-boxwood-maze-by-jim-smith/
Jim Smith has finally put together a whimsical and curious account of his life growing up at Longwood Gardens in the 1950’s, through Villanova and Vietnam in the 1960’s, and then into the mysteries of love, romance, and poetry. In lively verse, he proposes that this world is puzzling and strange, but well worth embracing. He lives with his wife the artist Phyllis Mayes in Silver Spring MD. The Boxwood Maze is his debut poetry collection.
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