lullaby fish ( 1989)

slept thru the big banjo pickoff 
and was awakened
by a hot turd of sunlight
that commenced to leeching energy from my skin
in the forms 
of precious money be it rubies rubles or scruples

slept thru them dueling mandolin gods on high
and sought music in my dreamstate
with pasty beerbreath and tinfoiled sleeping bag
i felt like
a pig-n-ablanket 

listening to no music
save the crunch and smelter of aluminum cans
and the slurp
of green river flowing thru the willow garden

so deep and dark and flowing
with teemings of catfish
no noodling can capture

slept thru the balladeers in the concert hall
of cattle pens while thicknecked farmers
sat on their daughters
&inverted their day off the tractors,
plowing self

woke up to the skipping of rocks
one two three and nearly
four i killed a lullaby fish





1989 Winfield Kansas Bluegrass Festival