Verse — We Never Played Rock ‘n’ Roll

I’d take a couple of LPs (they’d spin
at 33 and a third RPM)
and bike down the concrete sidewalk–not in
the street that’s made of brick. I’d dodge the limb
of the old elm in front of Katie’s house
and fly around the corner at the T
to where Paul lived. Two other high school guys
left bikes by the garage. We’d holler, “Hi!”
to Mrs. Duker and head downstairs to where
Paul’s dad had a great stereo. We’d play
some Brubeck or Al Hirt–we loved to hear
the “modern”jazz of the ’50s. We’d stay
and listen to Respighi’s Pines of Rome.
Band guys: we never wanted to go home…

– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, March 8, 2013