qarrtsiluni

by Julene Tripp Weaver

Janis Joplin’s gruff voice screaming to the hordes
I wanted to live in her screams
We sat in your day-glow room plastered with posters of Hendrix
Bohemians and Beats barely passé

I wanted to live in full-surround-scream—
Led Zeppelin, The Doors, in mad love with Morrison
We basked in the Bohemian equivalent of our generation
Life magazine photos of Haight-Ashbury

Led Zeppelin, The Doors, how I loved Jim Morrison
Ragged cut jeans, everything bright
Reminiscent of photos in Life magazine
We sat at Café Reggio, watched kids like us on MacDougal

Ragged cut jeans, tie-died bright
World of runaways
We sat in Café Reggio watching the natives
Never wanting to go back to Queens

This world of runaways
Your room plastered with posters of Hendrix
We had to go back to Queens
Like Janis Joplin we screamed, on the subway to the hordes

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Julene Tripp Weaver lives in Seattle. Finishing Line Press published her chapbook Case Walking: An AIDS Case Manager Wails her Blues, with poems inspired by her work for 18 years in HIV Services. Her poems are published in many journals and several anthologies, including Hot Metal Press, Gemini Magazine, Chicken Piñata, Outward Link, Blossombones, The Smoking Poet, Drash and Future Earth Magazine, and in the anthology A Dream in the Clouds, featuring art inspired by the 2008 Presidential Election. Her first full size book will be published next year. She does wordplay on Twitter @trippweavepoet.