Aloisius the Crab

from Northern Sketches by Gary Bunting

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lyrics

Aloisius The Crab

I like writing to the sound of the rain, gently dabbing at the windows
A candle burning, gingerbread and woodshed aromas
A hot cup of tea in an ancient cup, filled up to the brim
Tea stains in the cracks that spread like a spider’s web around the curves

My headache trails away like ash in a fading fire
But stir it up and the flames will rise, reaching, higher
It’s been a long day
The summer has seemingly faded
And I’ve waded through it
Sleep is the only remedy
But it’s early yet, too early.

I compose a list of chores of
Doors to close, dirt to clean, button’s to button, the peacock’s preen
The important and irrelevant, the elephant in the room
Sad eyed at the piano keys
So I pack my trunk and head to the coast
Because the sea is my brother but some siblings
They drown their own flesh and blood
Without the blink of an evil eye
Or a by or leave you in the sea like a punctured Lilo
Later, caught in a fishing net, a crab chewing on your elbow
You’re both slung on the deck, bereft
The crew aghast and the crab
Let’s call him Aloisius
He sneaks off sideways, gives a pincer wave
Glancing back with those lollipop eyes of his

And Aloisius the crab drifts down
Down, down, down to the sea bed
He makes his home in a discarded saxophone
That was blown by John Coltrane
That was blown in the New York rain
Blown through the New York nights
Blown through the subway train and
Until the day he died
When it was blown
Nevermore

credits

from Northern Sketches, released October 22, 2021

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Hello America Stereo Cassette

A new record label releasing audio recordings of writers' work. Poems backed by noise. Novels as audio books. Stories on cassettes. Curated by Adam Gnade. Currently accepting submissions.