Photography © Edward S. Gault

 

Hope Man

             Coffee! O.J.! Let this day be a boon!
                         Daniel Hoffman, “A Resurrection”

I wake up before dawn, have to catch a train.
I look out the window; what’s the chance of rain?
I find myself humming a catchy old tune –
             Coffee! O.J.! Let this day be a boon!

I wake up in a motel; it’s much too late.
I have to make a call about a very important date.
But all I want to do is hum “Rocky Raccoon” –
             Coffee! O.J.! Let this day be a boon!

One Winter Solstice, waiting for snow,
I wake up in the dark with nowhere to go.
But I still sing “Summertime” as if it were June –
             Coffee! O.J.! Let this day be a boon!

I wake up one Sunday, asleep at your side.
Please take me along for a wonderful ride.
Now I’ve got no reason to be singing “Blue Moon” –
             Coffee! O.J.! Let this day be a boon!

If you don’t want coffee, I’ll make you some tea.
I’ll choose you, and you choose me.
Your eyes look at me and make me want to croon –
             Coffee! O.J.! Let this day be a boon!

Sometimes when I wake up, I can’t get out of bed.
I wonder what to do about the noise in my head.
Good old “Blue Monk,” now that’s the perfect tune –
             Coffee! O.J.! Let this day be a boon!

 

Andrew Shields lives in Basel, Switzerland. His collection of poems Thomas Hardy Listens to Louis Armstrong was published by Eyewear in June 2015. His band Human Shields released the album Somebody’s Hometown in 2015 and the EP Défense de jouer in 2016.

Edward S. Gault is a poet and fine arts photographer living in Brighton, Massachusetts. His work has appeared in Oddball Magazine, Spectrum, Wilderness House Literary Review, Interlude, Currents, and Encore. His poetry collection, Airhead and Other Poems was published this year by Read and Green Books.