Blue Vinyl
(with thanks to Joni Mitchell)
Today I was in a vinyl mood
Today I was in a Joni mood
Wanted something real
Something to make me feel
Something perfect from the past
A melody made to last
Not wav or mp3
Someone playing good for free
So I shuffled through the old lps
Through years held fast in song’s deep freeze
And my fingers pulled out ‘Blue’
Did it once belong to you?
Just a sleeve, no cover
To wrap the scars of Joni’s lovers
Black vinyl with a bakelite shine
Orange labels from another time
Then something makes me stare and stop
For just before the needle drop
Across tracks one and two
A ghost from the time of me and you
A strand of your hair
On the vinyl there
Barring the way to Joni’s life
A keepsake from a friend and wife
If I leave it in place the record may stick
Or replay our truths with a gentle click
So I move the arm to play track three
And the hair shall stay where it’s meant to be
Little Green fills my brain
Carey gets out his cane
From the speaker’s shell comes an empty sigh
An echoed foggy lullaby