S'cuse Me While I Kiss...

The flesh of Elvis still alive  
Kennedy's ghost might wander in

pink shades  
framing forests of hair
the best conditioner
beer  
with a purple egg haze

Unashamedly weaned on blues
tripping deftly over guitar leads  
in the name of  
wah wah by mouth
Jimi  
flung frizz to the clouds

Hat lost in Denmark,  
Wardour Street sighed  
pirate tooth envy  
growing longer moustaches  
masking acne battle smiles

Big-bad doormen winced  
pocketing bribes at the door
cartoon drunks piled gutter high
ready to collect  
with the groupies outside

Raw feuds of geography  
north versus south
christened alleyways  
in claret and tears
acid from Bavaria  
churning the milk train home  
sourer than a generation at war

Part of me dreamed  
love was a cushion
I could plump  
to prop up my soul
but even before Monday
jangled that devil work in my face
when the fear of flashbacks  
had finally disappeared
the rest of me
(what was left of me)
sat cross-legged on the floor
inhaling another decade