Play It Again Schroeder.
I would sing the body electric.
I would suck the marrow of life
And chew its bones to dust.
I would dance the angels off the heads of pins.
I would risk insanity,
To wreak havoc on the unsuspecting whole.
I would woo women poetically
And visit every bed.
I would climb tall trees,
Hang from weak limbs,
And ease my way to the ground.
I would pimp and posture with Shakespearean flair,
As a first communication.
I would touch everything lustily and say:
“Beware, my dear, for I passionately love everything of beauty.”
I would laugh at anger and between the fighters.
I would feast with death, as the Mexican’s do in their celebration of loves lives.
I would eat odd flowers to grab attention.
I would tell stories full of convincing lies to entertain.
I would ask awkward questions and bath in the cleverest of answers.
I would implore the pretty girl for a quick chew of her gum to enjoy her reaction.
I would call myself a rightfully unrepentant dirty old man with the hormones of an adolescent.
I would drink too much coffee and laugh away my jitters.
I would drink too much wine and wail away the emotional tears.
I would enjoy life wholeheartedly and take nothing too seriously.
By gum, I would be Hamlet in my madness, Solomon in my choices, and Snoopy in my heart!
Dance, dance, dance.
Originally recited Oct. 14, 1997
Notes: Um… well, maybe I was justifying something here, but I was surely having fun doing it! That’s all I will say for Rated G ears.
From my Madrid files on the Pub Storytellers nights. Where an eclectic group of expats, troubadours, and assorted, sodden wordsmiths gathered twice a week to share a few pints, tell many tall tales, and lessen our loneliness at our favorite Irish Pub in Madrid, Spain, back in 1997-98. I kept my scribbles from these nights and the poems that grew out of the stories I told. This is the first time I’ve ever published these. I hope you enjoy them.