Poem in Your Pocket Day
'To the Yellow Princess in April’s Afternoon Light'
April is National Poetry Month, and today is “Poem in Your Pocket” day, so we offer these lines, written by librarian Jace Turner, to celebrate. “I thought I’d submit a poem that celebrates the visceral genius of American guitarist, John Fahey,” said Turner.
To the Yellow Princess in April’s Afternoon Light
John Fahey b. 1939, d. 2001
Takoma Park, Maryland your son is dead
your blue-eyed Irish boy John Fahey is dead
never again will his fingers pick the steel of his guitar
& carve their own lick from the ruined blues of his youth
the guru of avant-garde guitar
& his shadow Blind Joe Death have quit this place
to their death I dance
in my living-room filled with afternoon light
to John Fahey’s Yellow Princess whirling with fair hair April eyes
to her wild flowers rioting in the field I dance
to the crumbling red barn down the road
& sliding swallows building their nests of mud
to rolling clouds & a matinee show of rain
I’m dancing John Fahey
dancing to all that’s dead & green in you
to all that spring in you
