like a machine gun

[thisnewday]

if i'd paid attention
years ago,
in danlee mitchell's
percussion class,
i might
at least have
known the name
of the
rhythmic figure
the snare
drum played:

the rapid fire
of staccato beats
right after
nick cave sings,
"do you love me?"
in the steamy darkness
and pulsing light
of the sao paulo
night;

that was back
in '94, his
strung-out
heroin days,
though i was
never there, just
saw the video
which i then played,
over and over
again:

the clip was
grainy and
indistinct
and the smoke
hung 'round like
a stray dog or
hungry man
in a slum-bound
nightclub
alleyway;

"do you love me?"
he sings, then
ratta-tatta-tat
like a machine gun
spraying death and
other questions
and the starving dog
is smart enough
to run but
the man
who surely knows
the answer
just stands there...

L.P. Knickerbocker
11.16.2007 (a)