Excerpt from 'Jelly Roll'

book.jpgJelly Roll

A Blues
By Kevin Young

Knopf Copyright © 2003 Kevin Young
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0-375-41460-6


Chapter One


Excerpts

"Chorale"

Quite difficult, belief. Quite terrible, faith

that the night, again, will nominate

you a running mate- that we are of the elect

& have not yet found out. That the tide

still might toss us up another-what eyes

& stars, what teeth! such arms, alive-

someone we will, all night, keep. Not

just these spiders that skitter & cobweb,

share my shivering bed.

------------

"Ditty"

You, rare as Georgia snow. Falling

hard. quick. Candle shadow.

The cold spell that catches

us by surprise. The too-early blooms,

tricked, gardenias blown about, circling wind. Green figs.

Nothing stays. I want to watch you walk

the hall to the cold tile bathroom-all

night, a lifetime.

-----------

"Harvest Song"

Lover you leave me autumn, tilling, a man

tending his yard, or one not even

his own. Outskirts of town a farmer

one-armed, walks his fields into fire-my neighbor

on his knees with a razor trims his lawn. Next door

I am in the pines- grass thirsting, and up

to here in weeds- poison,neglect,

I have tried to forget- nothing works. Let

the birds rabbits termites have the run

of the place, the worms, I will take them in

------------

"Elegy, Niagara Falls" for Bert King, d. 1996

Here snow starts but does not stick-stay-

is not enough to cover the bare thaw-

ed ground. Grief is the god that gets us-

good-in the end- Here-churches let out

early-in time to catch the lunch special-at my local

hotel. Sunday- even the bus boy has your

face. And still having heard some days later you

were dead- I haven't caught sight-day

 



Excerpted from Jelly Roll by Kevin Young Copyright © 2003 by Kevin Young
Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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