Agent Orange uses that wild side
A minute is so precious…three cords and a riff.
And instead of picking that fight with
yourself try to see the music you can’t see.
This is always good-sitting somewhere
at 2:30 in the afternoon not telling lies
just hanging with that friend who is always ready
to explain that your math skills have always been horrible.
But he is that good time. That all show and stay;
his cabeza full to the top
of punk rock stories and wisdom.
How it’s all about the wild side in your gut.
Throwing bottles into the dumpster
to hear the clash of glass. Turn it up
take-off the shirt.
Black Flag sleeps near suburbia
Because punk music might tell us about the essential
decadence of white culture. Even down by the river
in that rusted-busted axel-van the radio belches
out the demented points. How many chances are still left
when the clerk in that polyester shirt
no longer asks for your driver’s license when you buy booze?
(Chinga). You realize something is missing because
under the tables the books are in stacks. The people
look so lost as they stroll beneath the lights
walking up and down the crowded aisles
of processed food. Your amigos and their tallboys
are trying to forget those long slow journeys
through suburbia. And then they ignore the questions invading those
lonely rooms that have one answer- one that is just flat and empty.
The Buzzcocks flash the encore
You tell everyone just because it is classic
does not mean it is good. How much does anyone deserve
as the sun rises after that night past in slow-motion again
and the day promises another hesitation at the uneven corner.
But that music reminds you that the body
is just being the body. You turn up the three chord riffs
and sing the songs of the sinner and their redemption.
Christopher Rubio-Goldsmith was born in Merida, Yucatan, grew up in Tucson, Ariz. and taught English at Tucson High School for 27 years. Much of his work explores growing up near the border, being raised biracial/bilingual and teaching in a large urban school where 70% of the students are American/Mexican. An Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award Honorable Mention and a two-time Pushcart nominee, his wife Kelly lets him know when the writing is off a bit. He is trying to get better at sitting and seeing.
Austin Cornett is a Louisville-based photographer and multimedia artist. They studied at JCTC and found their love for photography 10 years ago. Since then, they began the daily practice of taking photos every day and injecting experimentation into their everyday life. To see more of their work, you can go to salve_photography on Instagram.
ELEVENTH HOUR LITERARY 