13 Ways of Writing a Song

1
at the bottom of a bottomless stairwell

etching lyrics into soft plaster
with half-chewed toothpick

wondering when they shall
be rediscovered

2
in the wrong place, in frustration

volume overcompensates
for meaning, lost

uptempo, but
sorrow is unmistakable

3
in the morning, at the mirror

even a mouthful of toothpaste
can't suppress a tune

the phonograph is upstairs,
always spinning

4
by the frozen river, with mittens

I remember to bring somebody along
for warmth

in pearls of
dewy breath

 5
inside, among friends

soft, deep tones shimmer
from the mouth of a bass

wrapped delicately in the
musings of my fingers,
a ballet on ivory

6
running on sand, after nightfall

another pier passes and
the hum of seabreeze is
enough to summon melody

moving feet stir the sand,
imperceptable percussion

7
in the shower, after exhaustion

words ricochet off
slick white tiles with
the voice of ten
8
on the bed, seeking solace away

knobs to the left
capo nine frets up

whispering the way
steel strings do
as fingers glance over them

deepening silence with each breath

 9
in my time of dying, anxiously calm

lips feel their way
in and out
of reeds of a harmonica

each breath
laced with overwhelming vitality

10
at her doorstep, wracked with elation

writing down words on
notepads bearing hotel seals

11
in the common, among strangers

deliciously alone with guitar,
inverted stetson collects change
12
in the evening, winter beside me

unfamiliar coldness stiffens
fingers, they strum on
accompanied by lungs
forcing heat
through a rusty harmonica

13
at a diner, well past breakfast time

there is a certain romance about
toast dipped in yolk

and napkins
laden with streaks of grease
and hastily scrawled lyrics


Vikram Maheshri