Poem
Keith Jarrett
Skank v. (t)
Skank v. (t)
Skank v. (t)
London is the place, he singsinto the history books of
Blackness in these Isles;
contrived footage of a Calypso-
nian improvising an entrance
to the blessed Motherland.
After, reels of Blues dance:
black and white couples,
backs bent, elbows raised.
Establishment looks askance
at syncopated movement,
jerking like the spirit’s taken.
Glance through three score
and ten years past this point;
contrived reframing carries
in the knees. And we can’t
seem to step past this sinking
shipwreck tale, still framing
us off-beat; beaten; swept in
on a broken wave.
© 2019, Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett
(United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, )
Keith Jarrett is a poet, fiction writer and educator from London. His poetry addresses issues including identity, race and sexuality and takes its power from a sense of inquiry rather than polemic. He is a former UK Poetry Slam Champion and won the International Slam Championship at FLUPP in Rio in 2014. His play, Safest Spot in Town, was performed at the Old Vic and on BBC Four in 2017 as part...
Poems
Poems of Keith Jarrett
Close
Skank v. (t)
London is the place, he singsinto the history books of
Blackness in these Isles;
contrived footage of a Calypso-
nian improvising an entrance
to the blessed Motherland.
After, reels of Blues dance:
black and white couples,
backs bent, elbows raised.
Establishment looks askance
at syncopated movement,
jerking like the spirit’s taken.
Glance through three score
and ten years past this point;
contrived reframing carries
in the knees. And we can’t
seem to step past this sinking
shipwreck tale, still framing
us off-beat; beaten; swept in
on a broken wave.
Skank v. (t)
Sponsors
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère