Lenelle Moïse
I.
brother i was with you
the very first time i
heard
nina simone sing
sinnerman a hot night
in cambridge someone
else’s parent’s car
you pointed to the radio
exclaimed
this song yo!
this song! we
sat transfixed hooked
on ten plus minutes
of genius there was
much to love
a dainty then incessant
piano riff nina’s
effortful clapping and
grunting mid-song
the desperate repetition
of power cymbals
crashing hard against
an ending we
sighed after nodded yes
scrambled out
of the dark vehicle to
grip goodbye was that
the last time i got to?
had i been wise enough
then
to thank you?
summer scattered we
lost touch touch seems
too easy to lose i danced
for decades forgetting
my brother woe
tonight chewed by
the news
of your death
my ears hold
sinnerman close
so loud so clear
this noise of wit’s end
this blare of boiling
of bleeding rock!
what’s the matter
with you? rock! don’t
you see i need…
you pointed to the radio
exclaimed
II.
in the smoke-eyed
memory you are
bacchus god of ritual
wine bewilderment
dressed in silvery white
kinks bleached to match
voice all
honey thunder
arms all
muscle grace
you fly down from high
school theatre rafters
chiseled mighty large
as life have you
ascended again
bromius?
did the devil decide
to release you?
did oba rinse off
your mask?
did olokun unburden
your back?
does heaven stink of
fennel and pine cones?
could angels pass
for teenagers?
are you hiding out
with the lord now?
does she sing up there?
does nina still sing?