Shout Out to Annie...and Dad

Drivin' north like Braxton Bragg,
wonderin' if it's worth the gas.
August's heat is draggin' me down:
stiflin', drownin' humid days, all haze,
not cool...so not cool.

Playin' that EP you bought,
the one I never bothered
to listen to...leastwise
not until it was "my" idea.
Yeah...that's the way I'm wired.

So tired...but now I got Hootenannie
on the brain. I love this song,
the same one I said she wrote
for me: "A disenchanted man...
holdin' more than one should bear."

Sheddin' a tear, or two, or three,
thinkin' 'bout my dad, again.
Man, oh man, what a mess
he's in. He just didn't plan
for this. I wish I knew what to do.

"I see your tears, you're trying
to understand," and failin', Annie,
flailin' and failin', big time.
"What do you do when life
don't wind up like you planned?"

Y'all know Annie, sister blogger,
Parsons' daughter, and she
oughta be on the radio, yo!
Lady's got soul...schoolin' me,
near twice her age, on how to be alive.

That's my M/O, no jive...fallin' hard
for the dream...not Dreamboat Annie,
you know what I mean: the one where life
is smooth like Young's ice cream,
where we embrace this place as home.

Sorry, I could go on and on, dear friends,
but we know how this song ends, don't we?
"There's no way around the hard times."
The EP spins, and Annie Parsons sings,
"will your feet to hit the floor," once more.

(For more on Annie's EP, click here, and you'll enjoy her blog!)

This poem is part of One Stop Poetry's One Shot Wednesday poetry gathering, where all poets are welcome to share. Make the rounds!