An Old Friend in a New World

Keith could always

Find the best albums

And on the ride back

He’d put on music

And you’d say--

What’s this?

And Keith would say--

Just listen

And so you would

Past Turtletaub Diner

That serves food poisoning

As often as it serves food

Back in the backseat

I’d try to get comfortable

Against the naugahyde

While I listened to whatever

Guy with a guitar

Keith was high on

At that moment

Thirty years later

I’m still hearing songs

Keith introduced me to

As they pop up

On playlists

Or during random shuffles

As soon as one comes on

I think of serial killer summer

The one where we sat in that car

And talked about savage murder

For hours on end

While we rode

Back and forth

Across state lines

Keith’s favorite was Dahmer

Mine was Zodiac

Because they never caught him

We’d park places in the dark

Open our windows

And see if we could catch
Some trouble

Nobody ever bothered us

Because trouble doesn’t want

Anything to do with you

If you’re looking for it

Not when you’re guys like Keith

And life won’t give you excitement

Like it’s spiting you

Or something

Keith used to say

That most of his life

Was spent

Dealing with the spite of others

And when you’d ask him to elaborate

He’d just turn up the volume

And get into the fast lane

You took what he gave you

And cleaned your plate

And if that wasn’t enough

You could get out at the next stop

And have a nice life

That was Keith

And that was riding with Keith

And I’ve never had

A better buddy

To take on the road

I sold my car in 2015

And never got another one

Not having to look for parking

In the city

Was all the luxury I could hope for

And so I gave myself that gift

And proceeded to maintain

A dormant lifestyle

Made up of delivered pizza

And cold calling for cash

By that time, I hadn’t seen Keith

Since I was nineteen

And I didn’t bother searching for him
Since he was the type

That would resent being found

Twice I thought I saw him

Out and about

Once at a concert

And another time

In front of a food truck

Both times it was my eyes playing tricks

And my mind wishing for an old friend

In a new world

Late at night, I put on some music

As I wander my way

Into a tough night’s sleep

Sometimes a song will come on

That belongs to Keith

And sometimes it’s one

I think he would like

You can talk to just about anybody

Without them being there

But Keith was a here and now kinda guy

So I just stay quiet

And listen

I figure he’d appreciate that

I figure it

But I’ll never really

Be sure