by Ann Cefola
From Fall 2016
There were things against which we were powerless.
June had found a letter or something
On the road Johnny said (coughs),
Two horn players didn’t know what he wanted—
On the front porch, my mother’s guitar was like the harp of King David.
from an old friend going through a divorce
Well, I tell you what. Y’all ain’t going to believe this
he’d had this dream, you know, that he’d had horns on the song.
The guitar had come with us in the back of the moving truck
to the delta land of the Mississippi.
that said, Love is like a burning ring of fire.
but I had a dream last night. I dreamt
So we got two trumpets and they don’t know what to do.
Next time I’ll bring a better band but Sam Phillips said No I like it.
I heard ‘Ring of Fire’ with Mexican trumpets and
I’ll never get married again. Da-di-da-di-da-da.
I said, Well, sing dat tada tada dat dat dat.
A fiery ring bound by wild desire.
I was singing it.
Write that down. June and I looked at each other:
Mexican trumpets.