Poem: 'You Can Call Me Al Zymer, The One-Time Rhymer

YOU CAN CALL 

ME AL ZYMER, 

THE ONE-TIME RHYMER 

I remember the day Elvis died
but forgot where I put my keys,
they should be on the hook by the door,
I’m sure I had them a moment ago

I remember the Moon Landing
we watched that one small step,
it was on the black-and-white TV,
but I forget my PIN number,
I wrote it on a post-it, then mislaid it,
could happen to anyone

I remember all the lyrics to ‘Like A Rolling Stone’
but who did the record? for the moment
the name escapes me, wait, it’ll come to me,
maybe I’ll google it

I remember when John Lennon got shot
I came home from work and
it was all over the tele
it seemed like the end of something
the past slipping away, beyond recall,
but I forget my son’s birthday,
and the name of… my grandchild

I remember less
and forget more
I remember
I forget
I forget

Listen, I heard this joke, it starts
‘You can call me Al… something’
it’s a good joke, you have to laugh, don’t you?
‘You can call me Al’ it goes, yes, it’s a good one

sometimes I find myself crying for no reason
I don’t know why

I remember my first night with Cathy
the warmth, the tenderness,
but I wonder who this is sitting across
the breakfast table from me,
the smile looks familiar
as though I should know her

someone wrote this poem onscreen,
I don’t like it very much,
was it me? was it…?



Featured on the website:
‘CAPTAIN MUSE’ (UK – 9 October 2014)
Published in: ‘KRAX No.51’ (UK – December 2014)