The Songbird of Brinley Avenue
for John Dorsey
If she were a songbird
I wonder which one
I’d compare her to—
Dolores, the elderly widow
from a few doors down,
starts to sing as I get dressed
for another workday—
maybe a mourning dove
or a mockingbird
a house sparrow
or even a starling
regardless I don’t think
any of them can top
a tune to her when she performs
with her record player.
Last week
it was Billie Holiday
and some Frankie Valli
yesterday
a little Tina Turner
and some Jackson 5
but today
it’s something fierce
something that means business
for a Monday morning
so I leave a few records
by her front door—
some Misfits,
Clash and Ramones—
just in case.
About the Author: Cord Moreski is a poet from the Jersey Shore. Moreski is the author of Apartment Poems (Between Shadows Press, 2022), Confined Spaces (Two Key Customs, 2022), The News Around Town (Maverick Duck Press, 2020), and Shaking Hands with Time (Indigent Press, 2018). When he is not writing, Cord waits tables for a living and teaches middle school children that poetry is awesome. You can follow Cord here: www.cordmoreski.com
Image Credit: “A man holds up a vinyl recording disc from a box of discs at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C” (1949) Public domain image courtesy of The Library of Congress
As It Ought To Be 