It's a Living Thing

Day 17: 'write a poem that is inspired by a piece of music, and that shares its title with that piece of music.'  Written with thanks to The Electric Light Orchestra for giving me years of pleasure.  


It blasts out of the Echo dot, full volume,
Every time you work on the house. 
A predictable accompaniment, 
Repeated so many times it starts to irritate, 
Until its insistent, driving melodies
Transport me back to the innocent 70s,
When I believed university was teaching me 
Everything there was to know about the world,
When in truth, I still had it all to learn.  
Without realising, I find myself singing along, 
Long forgotten lyrics rising easily to my lips, 
My old bones thinking themselves young again,  
Dancing to the well known rhythms:
There's gonna be a party all over the world, 
It's a living thing, such a terrible thing to lose, 
Don't bring me down, no, no, no, no, no,
Mr Blue Sky,  please tell us why, 
You had to hide away for so long, so long.
The weight of years slips off my shoulders,
And for a short while, I swirl and sparkle
With the springtime certainty of my youth.



© Copyright 2024. Chris Auger. All Rights Reserved

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