Teenage Sweat

 

there are two outlets

in the entire room

they’re both jammed

with power strips

and string of lights

no fans in sight

it already smells

like teenage sweat

 

blue jeans

and black plastic

bags full of

once cold beer

 

these two guys

are dancing their asses

off, I can’t tell it’s

cocaine, ecstasy

or molly

it’s like

barney rubble

and kevin bacon

are on the loose

 

rip an e chord loose

let those thin lizzy

twin guitars run free

tag a bassist with an empty

give the drummer

chicken wings

 

this is just another wasted

night, they all are

ears ringing, pupils shrinking

our out of fashion rage

sizzling in the lack

of electricity, if we’re lucky

maybe the bathroom door

still has a working lock

 

A Very Clean Shadow

 

it’s the night of ego death
I am just a consciousness
with no body
alone in the universe
no god or government
to fail me

 

after watching
The Grand Illusion
with Renoir’s affirmiration
of the beauty, the freedom
of the human, I should
be able to drift
along peaceful

 

with the lights out
my brain is suddenly
spiraling, internalizing
a buzz saw and I
feel myself stuffed
in my own chest
screaming to get out

 

I can’t let myself out
I can’t let go
I have to wait this out
wait for the trajectory to change
wait for my to brain
to switch to externalize
wait and wrestle
deep inside myself
when the saw loses electricity
I sputter out
drifting to
dreamless

 

it’s the morning after ego death
I’m having trouble
stretching into my skin again
I still have most of my teeth
and a very clean shadow

 

Found Poem for Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa’s “The Drum Battle”

 

controversial Buddy Rich

some flatly state

he was the greatest

drummer of all time

others flatly state

he was insensitive

 

he was all flash

as a technician

phenomenal

extremely fast

accurate

and never ceased

to drive musicians

without letup

 

many always compared

him to Gene Krupa

as to “who did the most

to promote the drums”

 

once in 52

they had a head to head battle

it was one of those jazz concerts

here’s a recording of that” battle

of the drums.” as they billed it

listen to the crowd

as Buddy walks on stage

Jason Baldinger is a poet from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He was recently a Writer in Residence at Osage Arts Community, and is founder and co-director of The Bridge Series. He has multiple books available including the soon to be released The Better Angels of our Nature (Kung Fu Treachery) and the split books The Ugly Side of the Lake with John Dorsey (Night Ballet Press) as well as Little Fires Hiding with James Benger (Kung Fu Treachery Press). His work has been published widely in print journals and online. You can listen to him read his work on Bandcamp on lps by the bands Theremonster and The Gotobeds.