Member-only story
The Blackout Song
What happens when a poet tries to write lyrics.
N.b. — a few weeks ago, Amanda Palmer hosted a contest on her patreon, challenging patrons to write songs about the blackout in New York City. Because I’m not a very good lyricist (or musician), I didn’t expect to place — and I didn’t. But I had fun writing.
There’s something about
the city that’s humming
‘lectricity churning, alight;
a chest that keeps beating
a drum that keeps banging,
a rhythm, a struggle, a fight.
And nobody knows
whatsoever they’d do
if the power ever blew.
The darkness is falling
all over the city;
And nobody knows what to do,
but darkness has kept me
and filled me with pity.
The Darkness shows the truth.
Influencers clamor
for selfies in shadows;
they’re clinging to their screens.
And hipsters in bars
cling to their mason jars
and pour another drink;
their cell phones alight,
they don’t face the night;
it’s the same old everything.
