This air-conditioned
room has recently
been full of Nas
and Brand Nubian.
That’s just the truth. Not trying
to make a point
or add to my name-weight
by borrowing heft from others.
It’s just that there’s an afternoon
of 90s videos on TV and those
were the only two
that made me look up.
I don’t believe in
nostalgia. A lot of
so called classic rock
isn’t. A lot of hip hop
went over my head
and still does. When
a good punch lands, though,
it lands well and age
means nothing to me
or to the music. “Street Dreams.”
“Don’t Let It Go To Your Head.”
In case you were wondering. In case
you want to know more as
I wanted to know more. I wrote
those names down
in an air-conditioned room.
I turned them up. I looked them
up and watched them again
alone, at top volume,
the way I listen to any rock
that hits me right
at a given moment and makes me
want to know more. Anything that gets me
to sniff around new knowledge
excitedly, as if I was hot upon
some original trail away from
the lonely air-conditioned room.