I'm a Sensitive Poet so Here's a Sensitive Poem: Apologies to Lübeck



Hey Gang!

I'll be posting a longer entry in a a week or two about the raging metropolis of Tulsa, Oklahoma. For now, in honor of my show in Bloomington, IN with Dan Sully, here'a a poem I wrote about my first trip to Lübeck, Germany in 2011. Dan Sully and I were the features and J.W. Basilo managed to place 2nd in the slam. This was J.W.'s first trip to Europe and he was extremely concerned about not being the asshole American which is ridiculous because he is the biggest asshole I know. After the slam, J.W. ended up with the bottle of champagne which set the tone for the rest of the evening.

This poem owes a lot to Derrick C. Brown's "Last Night in Paris". I'd post a link to it but I can't find it online. Derrick thinks it's in his collection "Year of the Butterfly Knife" but he is old and his memory is unreliable.

Apologies to Lübeck

When given the choice
between a bar that has women
or a bar that serves whiskey
we chose whiskey
because in Lübeck, Germany
you cannot have both

It was a jazz bar named
after a Russian painter
that played British heavy metal

My travel companions and I
we had made a pact
We would not be the loud Americans
We would be polite
We would be courteous
We would not wear out our welcome
like a flag left flying in a thunderstorm

And we were

We were down right diplomatic
Goodwill ambassadors with
questionable beards
and dumb haircuts

Drinks were sipped slowly
Cigarettes smoked with drags
as long as the legs of the women
who were not in this bar

Our guide’s heavily accented English
and our nonexistent German
created conversation that flowed
like a creek riddled with boulders
and beaver dams

I do not drink
Drinks were still purchased for me
so I passed them off alternating
between my fellow Americans
who were now sounding
more like Americans

The Germans were sounding
more like Americans

Till closing time when we
exited like a rock slide onto
the ancient cobblestone

We strutted the narrow streets
singing Journey songs
as if they were the Star Spangled Banner
our voices shooting off like Patriot missiles
till we crash landed in our hostel
weighed down by jet lag, alcohol, life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

Lübeck: We are so sorry
that we were so awesome that night
We are the reason your citizens
started wearing backwards baseball caps
and watching monster truck races

We are the reason they are overweight
because these colors don’t run
Captain America, JW Basilo

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