Waylon Speed – Kin (Album Review as Poetry)

Kin

Think of Vermont:
Farmhouses, maple trees, syrup amber in jars,
Camembert, brie, jonagold,
Honeycrisp drives through lush green country.
Think of settling down, breathing once more.

But also of sleeve ink, Hank Williams, John Prine,
Of demons haunting a ghost named Waylon Speed,
Stalked through back streets leaving charred filters,
His Grimm breadcrumbs in the harsh forest
Where Reverend Hammaker leads the procession.

A bird on a wire is unsteady.
Put down the apple. Listen.

 
Kin 10
(A found poem using the first line of each track)*

I’m broke down again outside your door.
Tell me your story, where’d you get your name?
It looks like you’ve been ashing on your dashboard.
Well I know I don’t show it,
Two dirty needles and a junky in the pines,
I’m breaking out before it breaks my shoulders.
I don’t want to hear no complaining,
I said to myself for what it’s worth.
You tell me that the end is near;
I am leaving this evening.

_______________________

*Lyrics by Waylon Speed