Depression Era Songs

Paper Moon
 
This is me fingering binoculars and failing to identify mythological characters on the surface.
This is you forgetting to look up, missing the light rumored to affect the psyche.
This is me being a know-it-all – “The unexpected eclipse, the crater shadow, the discovery of subsurface ice, maps of the dark side.”
This is you when “good to go” is signaled with unrestrained and unadorned laughter.
This is me pointing upward.
This is you glancing and forgetting.
 
[RK, 12/19/2020]
 
 
Pennies From Heaven
 
day after day I have settled for a penny
thinking they would add up
stacked like poker chips
teetering in the wind
wheelbarrow to the bank
interest accruing each time
you laugh at my dumb jokes
 
while knowing all along
they are just pennies
 
[RK, 12/19/2020]
 
 
Dream A Little Dream of Me
 
occasional repeats with variations
of four places I’ve never been
 
the shock when a dream is revealed
in a never seen real world application
 
you know when I’m chasing you
because you never  fall asleep
 
you know I could never separate
twined realities, day and night
 
[RK, 12/19/2020]


We’re In The Money

I’m still chasing green ideals
reminding myself to turn
convictions into commitments
failing that I’ll tell you a story
that starts in 1984, ends in 1994
with lots of gossip in between
about warmth, friendship, and
a fading and mostly forgotten
family from far Phoenix

[RK, 12/19/2020]