Before the students
I demonstrate the twist
After reading an Eady poem
about the twist
about his neighborhood
about Rochester, New York
about Cornelius Eady
and it’s turned into
another poem
about me doing the twist
about us
about Potlatch, Idaho
And I nearly crashed into the filing cabinet
When one of the girls wanted to put me
On YouTube doing the twist
And I said, “No way.”
And I stopped doing the twist
because I didn’t want it to be
about anybody else
except us
but it keeps moving
twisting
from Rochester, New York
to Potlatch, Idaho
Whether I’m on YouTube
Or Cornelius Eady is on the page
“Shake it up, Baby!
Twist and Shout!”
2017
About this Poem:
I wrote this poem during a poetry writing assignment with my students after reading some Cornelius Eady poems and then put it in the archives, making no real connections with myself and Rochester, New York (having never been there) or Cornelius Eady (in spite of what the poem alleges). Now my oldest son lives in Rochester in his second year of his medical residency. So this poem is still twisting between Rochester, New York and Potlatch, Idaho and I'm still shaking it up.
And, in case you were wondering about the Twist, well it was the first dance that the couple didn't hold or even touch each other and it happened about the time my parents were teens and I was born. Little tidbits of information keep popping up with this poem! The photo is a street in Rochester.
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