download the original after his third beer, the old records came out. all the best are worn thin from late night listening sessions years ago, eleven college kids crammed in a small room, cigarette smoke, empty beer cans, loud conversations about politics, breakfast cereal, and music: pulling out “after the gold rush” to prove that […]
Author Archives: charlie monday
monday song #49: crucifixion is easy
lyrics sally mccarthy bathes her daughter in a shallow tub on the kitchen table. the baby fusses but stops short of crying. as she sponges her tiny hands, sally marvels at the soft palms, just starting to prune. and her uncle carter’s voice speaks up in her memory. “i don’t see what all the […]
monday song #48: fading to grey
lyrics for matt margolin. we played music together for many years. back then, he was one of my closest friends. and though we hadn’t seen much of each other this past decade, i always thought of him with great fondness.
monday song #47: still life
lyrics staring at the floor. frozen. scuffed wood once elegant, now dulled by years of water spraying from the kitchen sink. it’s the eighth floor at liberty lane. frozen. looking down. familiar. elliott came from a family that spent their lives propping up the walls, keeping the ceiling in place. his father drinking and laughing […]
monday song #46: wonder boy
lyrics he paid too much for the green day tickets, but it was worth it. now they’re tucked inside the gift-wrapped book of gary larson cartoons. it took him a week of horse-trading to convince his ex to let james spend his birthday away from her.
monday song #45: the 10 o’clock news
lyrics charlotte woke up crying. her father sits at the end of the couch. his voice is soft, his breath is sweet. the party is quieting down, but there are still adults talking downstairs. charlotte is seven. she dreamt that the house was on fire.
monday song #44: in love
lyrics across the street. the luchesi’s.
monday song #43: i’m in love with everyone
lyrics cheever street, late afternoon. a muffled roar pulses from a garage near the end of the block. from outside the clamor is hard to recognize, but the roar demands attention. more than one neighbor watches their clock for the agreed upon curfew of six pm to arrive, when they can call to complain. why […]
monday song #42: punk
lyrics james lives on fenton street down the block from the empty lot that once held the 7-11. a firehouse is going up slowly. he’s a teenager, but you’d only know it from the library books in his backpack: salinger, the autobiography of malcolm x, arthur c clarke. his looks would place him in elementary […]
monday song #41: gravity
lyrics darkness attracts light. the contrast can be thrilling. but it’s always and forever darkness. and over time, the light gets tired of doing all the work.