A POET FORGETS HIS LIBRARY by Cornelius Eady
For Jack Agueros
Look at all those lovely books.
What are all those books to me?
Words are wriggle-fish in an endless sea.
I over-hear them talking,
Sometimes I think
They’re talking about me.
All this time, all this time
All this time at sea.
They say it has no memory.
A poet forgets his library.
Something was written long ago.
A voice I should know says it was written by me.
Something like a hymn, almost holy song,
Some face on the cover, but they’ve
Got it all wrong.
Tell me what this nonsense
Has to do with me?
All this time, all this time
All this time at sea.
They say it has no memory.
A poet forgets his library.
My name they say, is a man beloved,
A man with a printed history.
Here I sit, and here they try
To read it back to me.
What’s this accusation?
The hell is poetry?
All this time, all this time
All this time at sea.
They say it has no memory.
A poet forgets his library.
Words written by: Cornelius Eady
Music composed by: Bernie Heveron
Vocals: Cornelius Eady
Guitar: Marvin Sewell
Everything Else: Bernie Heveron
Listen to the song “A Poet Forgets His Library” below…
Cornelius Eady describes his hybrid music/poetry project and the specific inspiration for “A Poet Forgets His Library,” dedicated to Puerto Rican poet and activist Jack Agueros…
