Notebook Writer

The James Brown

by mike marcellino

Can man can,
only 80,
strong arms guide a bike,
his headlight of cans
arms of V-8 juice.

Can man can,
his Sears bike, an Elgin
then J.C. Higgins
thirty four model,
rusted over an over
runs straight ahead anyway
on tubes and tires.

Can man can,
aluminum down to 40 cents
from 71, in this depression.
His heart's still strong,
operated on.
His Elgin still runs true
along the yellowing brick roads
like a West Virginia
company coal town,
wood box houses
homes of steel workers
in the middles
of the then.

Can man can.
James Brown
ride on to Marietta,
down to the river
makin’ his way to Somerset,
Kentucky.

Can man can by mike marcellino copyright 2009