PICK A PART THAT’S NEW by THE STEREOPHONICS. Poem by Michael Leach

 

Friday 2 May 2008, Melbourne, Naarm

It’s soon after I moved

from the country to the city

to work at a hospital

pharmacy.

 

It’s my first Friday

night out here

and I’m allegorically alone.

 

I find myself on my own

in the Forum,

flying solo

at the first gig

I’ve ever dared

attend without a friend.

 

I don’t know

if standing alone is sad

or a sign of dedication

to a ’90s Britrock band

that still knows how to rock.

 

That overpriced alcohol

is flowing so fast

into the mouths

of fun-loving fans.

 

I’m now partaking

in this legal drug

for the first time in months,

drinking with strangers,

coalescing into crowds

within crowds.

 

Midway

thru the performance,

I hear Kelly Jones sing

the words to a couple

of my fave ’Phonics songs—

Pick a Part That’s New

and Just Looking

from Performance

and Cocktails.

 

I finally find myself

mouthing every single word,

listening to others sing along,

overhearing someone close by

 

say out loud

‘This guy speaks my mind’.

 

I smile

and drink

to that, savouring

the community

here amidst the loneliness

of the city.

 

Stereo Story #669