Blues Alphabet

Ain’t no business we can do,
Bank done busted like an alley can.
Can’t spare no angel, says the lord,
Didn’t intend for you to crawl.
Every penny I had done sank,
Furniture man, it’s in my name.
Good news chariot’s coming,
Heck of a how-do-you-do, I’ll say,
It’s cold in Iceland, colder here.
John seen that magic number,
Keep on dealing, play your hand.
L stands for lucky, lucky as can be,
Meet me in the bottom, somewhere
North, nineteen-twenty-nine.
Old rock island got no scruple,
Picked poor robin clean.
Quick deal fixer you speak too fast,
Reckon I know the game by now.
Slick capers when a face don’t fit,
Tempo de bucket, talk and truck it.
Upside down the page reads clear,
V for Victim that’s all you share.
When somebody loses, another wins,
X or Y, Mr nameless slips away.
You’ve had your last go round,
Zigzag to zero, it’s just a dream.





Bio:

Gavin Selerie was born in London, where he still lives. He was formerly a lecturer at Birkbeck College. His books include Azimuth (Binnacle Press, 1984), Roxy (West House Books, 1996), Days of ’49 [with Alan Halsey] (West House Books, 1999) and Le Fanu’s Ghost (Five Seasons Press, 2006). He has appeared in anthologies such as The New British Poetry (Paladin, 1988), Other: British & Irish Poetry since 1970 (Wesleyan University Press, 1999) and The Reality Street Book of Sonnets (Reality Street, 2008). Music’s Duel: New and Selected Poems 1972-2008 is due from Shearsman in 2009.