The small and powerful black speakers exhale eighth and quarter notes

from the first and third tracks off her oldest album.

Stretching the time like yoga instead of a clock’s achy twitches,

the bluesy songs feel more like a soft green.

The first and third tracks from her oldest album

don’t have the highest recording fidelity;

the bluesy songs feel more like a soft green—

her later works paid for crisper sounds with their soul.

They don’t have the highest recording fidelity,

but her earlier works slip off the record like silk—

Her later works paid for their crisper sounds with their soul,

soul earned from their younger, more honest brothers.

Her earlier works slip off the record like silk,

the small and powerful black speakers exhaling eighth and quarter notes.

Soul earned from the younger, more honest brothers

stretch the time like yoga instead of a clock’s achy twitches.

Fall 2009