Last night I went to the Lost Lounge, a club the size of your living room with a stage as big as a sofa-bed (I exaggerate and it's funny.) It's located at a Snooker Club in Mississauga in a Chinese/Korean stripmall. I go there because every other Friday or so, my friend Joe plays a set there, his singer-songwriter acoustic folk-soul style has gotten very polished in front of his closest friends. Last night he threw a massive bash to celebrate the completion and release of his long-awaited indie EP. I haven't listened yet but I know the songs and he's got some really great stuff.
Anyway, one of the performers he had up there was his girlfriend, playing a few covers on the piano, as well as at least one on the guitar. She's special and I hope it works out for them because not every girl would introduce her next song "I think you all know this one" and launch into an acoustic version of "Paint It, Black." They also did a duet.
Anyway, while all this was going on and I was, as is often the case, subjected to watching the young, newly-minted love of others, I began composing a poem in my head. Of course, I got so caught up in the music later that evening that it slipped out but I managed to grab onto a few stray lines and will reconfigure them as best I can soon. Until then, here's an old, untitled one from the notebook, written around February when I was feeling a lot of deadlines...
Untitled Feb 10
Same-day furniture delivery,
two-hour dry cleaning,
glasses in about an hour --
oil changed while you wait.
My essay's due on Friday,
my time is running thin.
Even if I knew what I want to say,
I wouldn't know how to begin.
I have vacation days saved up
rolled over from last year.
I'm getting ill
and time stands still
if you're just standing here.
Ten minutes until the library closes,
a subway train every three to five,
twenty seconds to cross the street,
a world in the blink of an eye.
KOR-SAW
music
