MOTOWN LOVE POEM
Sing me Motown love songs on midsummer nights,
This is my homecoming,
After 5 years of travels
From the ends of the earth,
To my home-state,
The air hangs heavily over Motor City,
Everyone is escaping to cool countryside boroughs,
I remain in the city,
Working at the resturant,
Serving delicious African fare,
Catching the Woodward bus,
Sometimes by the old Model T factory,
First mile of paved road in the US was near here,
I love Sheefy McFly’s art on 7 Mile,
An homage to Keith Haring:
With dancing boom box & heart,
(“Techno is Black”)
(“This ain’t graffiti, it’s art!”)
I saw the ghosts of Diego & Frida downtown,
& I pass by
The Central Methodist Church
Where Martin Luther King Jr. spoke,
I saw “Cowboy” yesterday on his horse,
Cantering down Woodward,
Leading a spotted colt,
It is now the second week in July,
Blueberry season begins,
Highland Park used to be called,
The City of Trees…
I hear the train whistle late at night,
Or in the morning,
Over Detroit techno,
Or Motown…
“Baby I need your loving”…
Or
“We almost lost Detroit”…
AUTHOR NOTES:
* @SheefyMcFly is a Detroit artist.
* Diego & Frida reference to Diego Rivera & his Detroit Industry murals
* Highland Park is a city part of metro Detroit
* Detroit is the birthplace of Motown and techno music.
James Schwartz is a poet, writer, slam performer and author of 5 poetry collections including The Literary Party: Growing Up Gay and Amish in America. He resides in Detroit. Twitter: @queeraspoetry. Website: Literaryparty.blogspot.com
Art: “detroit glitch & glitter” a visual poem by Robert Frede Kenter Twitter: @frede_kenter IG: r.f.k.vispocityshuffle
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