Sad Song on Repeat

after a day surrounded by philistines
a not yet broken poet takes refuge
in the familiar peace of desolation
echoing quietly through two small speakers

years ago this song came to him
in the most serendipitous way

lost in a record store
lost in his changing taste of music
intirigued by its title
he purchased the album on a whim

when he got it home
to his roach infested efficiency apartment
it proved itself the perfect companion piece
to the cheap bottles of scotch he'd grown fond of

most of the tracks were laced with enough angst
to keep his punk spirit burning
yet calm enough to sense something
he'd been waiting for
was somewhere
on this album

and then it played
track 17

at first
he couldn't believe he'd found it
the song he'd been waiting a lifetime for
but upon a few more listens he came to realize
it had found him

duetting vocals literally sang his name
in a tale of woe
and misguided love
against strings picked softly
in the warmth of a minor key

it comforted him
it said
"if you never have anything else
you have me"

years later
it tells him the same


-for "Everything's Bad" by The Tossers