EULOGY OF JIMI CHRIST
look at the sky
turn a hell fire red lawd
somebodies house is burnin down down down
look at the sky turn a hell fire red lawd
somebodies house is burin down down down down…
—Jimi Hendrix
I.
burn it down
you burned it all the way down jimi
made us burn
in the flame
that became yo sound jimi
grabbed ol legba
by his neck
made him
show you yo respect
hoochieman
coochie man
stranglin him
hoochie coochie hoodooman
wrangled him voodoo chile
made
his
steel
strings sing
ache
bend
break
sin
capitulate
give in
to the will
of yo beautifully
blessed fingers
bewitchinly
bleedin
bittersweet
south paw
serendipitous
sighs
and strained
stratacaster tears
soothin burnin
twistin turnin
into steam
as they fell
no
careened
toward all hellbound souls
only to
roll
back into yo
gypsied eyes
to fornicate
copulate
be sodomized
by penetration beautiful
of sweatband born acid rain
II.
a purple haze runnin through
yo brain drained into the veins
of daytrippers turned acid angel
by yo gift of little wings
which with the aid
of yo mary cryin winds soared
not merely above
around and through
crosstown traffic
but along/well beyond
watchtowers to realm
where gods made love
to little miss strange
foxy ladies in little red houses
over yonder
and on rainy days
would sit back
shoot craps
with laughin sams dice
while boastin bout who had
the most experience
III.
how that musebruise
of yo sadomasochistic bluesoozed
through floors and l.s.d. doors
left psychedelic relics wrecked
on phosphorescent shores
talkin bout that night
you got right
at yo height
rocked woodstock
played yo remade
american anthem
had all the flowers
in the garden chantin
go head brotha
piss off the power
structure brotha
say fuck ya
to the structure brotha
one mo time one last time
befo its yo last time brotha
stick/move
hit/run
stick/move hit/run
try to get
yo ass beyond
the grip of the grim one
try to get
yo ass out of
the sight line of death
try to get
yo ass past
the reach
the reaper
by dodgin
that sonofabitch
betwixt the expanse
of jangled cacophonous chords
and hidin out in shadows flooded with feedback
jimi the anointed
jimi the christ
jimi
you manically depressed
maniacally duressed
manifested messiah
impaled upon the neck
of that thang you loved the best
yo one hearts true burnin desire
jimi christ
forever walkin
on the waters
of a bad trip
turnin all of
them bad trips
into wine
castin yo net
upon the waters
of a bad trip
just to see whats there
for you to find
jimi christ
patron saint
of divine distortion
too soon
did you force
the hand of demise
but i aint pissed
gypsy eyes
cause right now
we diggin on the thought
of you and yo homeboy god
bein somewhere
out there in electric lady land
sippin celestial moonshine
bout to tune axes
cut heads
and go
toe to toe
blow for blow
lick for lick
stick for stick
jimi christ
too soon did you force
the hand of demise
but i aint pissed
at you gypsy eyes
cause i dig that any mother lover
who lived a life like you led
deserved to die any death desired
to die youngto die
highto die stonedto
die freeto die youngto die high
to die stonedto die
freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
all we wanted was one time
just one time
to stand next to yo fire
—from Rattle #27, Summer 2007
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