GAS Featured Poet: Jimmy Broccoli

Jimmy Broccoli is a Library Branch Manager by day and a published poet by night with a mission to inspire his readers through imaginative poetic storytelling. His work has been featured in several publications and his first collection of poems, “Damaged,” was released on Christmas Day 2021. He is the editor/collector for the poetry anthology, “Spotlight” and will be releasing his next collection of poems, “Rabbits,” on Halloween Day 2022. 2023 will welcome a second anthology, “Encore,” a children’s book, and his third collection of poems, Boy.  Jimmy enjoys walks on the beach and playing with puppies.

No Hay Banda (There is No Band)

 

Inspired by David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” – Club Silencio scene

 

“Watch out!”, I shout – as the deer leaps in front of the car –

we’re on a road that is near the Interstate (but local) –

We plunge head-on into the deer – I hear the thud – it’s loud –

and unforgettable –

“Stop”, I say! “Why?”, he asks –

“We hit a deer!”  - I tell him –

…and he doesn’t seem to be understanding what I am saying

 

No hay banda – there is no band

 

I hear the sweet soothing sound of the trumpet –

and soon realize it’s pre-recorded and synthesized –

That’s okay –

It plays on the car radio – and I listen to it play…

it’s beautiful –

and it’s okay that it isn’t real – there is no trumpet

 

No hay banda – there is no band

 

“Didn’t you see the deer?”, I ask exasperated –

“There was no deer” –

“How do you explain the blood on the front of the vehicle?”, I ask

“There is no blood – I’ll clean it all up tomorrow” –

the trumpet plays and I can hear it’s sound (real or imagined) –

it plays gently to my ears (whether trumpet or synthesized)

 

A sudden clap of thunder – “It’s not real”, he tells me –

“What does that even mean?”, I ask –

“it’s not thunder – it is a keyboard stroke imitating thunder” –

I pause

“But, I heard it” – “You heard what you wanted to hear – what you thought you heard”, he says –

“what you’re comfortable in hearing” -

I’m confused -

and I think about us hitting the deer –

 

No hay banda – there is no band

 

“I don’t speak Spanish”, I tell him

“The deer was in your imagination”, he tells me –

and I know he is mistaken or wrong –

“there is no blood on my vehicle” he tells me –

(and I think he has cleaned it off)

And my memory conjures thoughts of the deer leaping out in front of the car -

directly in front of us – we hit the deer

 

No hay banda – there is no band

 

In his vehicle – he is driving – we come across a stop sign –

In the middle of nowhere -

and he stops – a clarinet plays for us gently and smoothly

through the car speakers and I cannot tell if it is a real clarinet -

A triangle joins the symphony – and I hear it – but he doesn’t

– we continue through the deserted intersection –

as I listen to this symphony that may or may not be real

 

When there is no band – there is no conductor –

when there is no band – there is no meaning or understanding –

 

it’s an illusion

 

“Watch out!”, I shout, as the deer jumps in front of the car –

 

and there is no deer

 

…or perhaps there is

I Don’t Want to Go to Heaven

 

I don’t want to go to Heaven

I want to go where they went

 

(the time has not yet come, but it will)

 

“Doctor, I’ve lived an interesting life

And don’t regret a moment of living -

And I’m okay with moving on

I am loved – and, for that, I am thankful!

It is time for me to breathe one last time

and then never take another breath”

 

Then… (the time has not yet come, but it will)

 

The lines on the heart monitor flat line and the beeping becomes a solid tone

The nurses come running and my father’s face fills with tears

My sister gasps, turns away and, emotional, leaves the room for anyplace else

My best friend, sitting beside me, as I lay in the hospital bed –

smiles gently, her hand in mine and I, without sound, say goodbye…

 

Let me go, let me go, let me go

 

And in a blink – and just like that…

 

The bridge – it stands before me, magnificent!

It’s multi-colored –

exquisite and almost blinding in its opulence and beauty

Ahead is a land of endless chew toys and treats

With no interruptions to play time and snuggles

 

I hear barking and laughter beyond, yet near – and I smile,

as I take my first steps across the wooden planks beneath my feet

I then begin running – the reunion cannot happen fast enough!!!!!

In the distance I see them – I see them all!!!!!

Tails wagging, tongues hanging out –

 

And…and…happiness.

 

Uninterrupted happiness. Always and forever and ever.

______________

 

(the time has not yet come, but it will)

 

So, when I die, I ask the gods to kindly look away

and to pay me no mind

Let me go my own way

And allow me to continue to where I am meant to be

 

I don’t want to go to Heaven

I want to go where they went