The Sunday Poem: Guitar Strap

It was a gift from her, when my back tired.
Though some, sunbursts shouting, are velvet soft,
My gift is plain, considered, quiet. Blue.
I tie it round the headstock with a shoelace.
It’s worth what all gifts cost to get, except
When we fight—

Then it is all the difference in the world
Between sitting down and standing to face the song.

This is from circa 1993. The original draft was very similar, but the line “When we fight” instead read “When we spit out loud words that chafe our tongues.” A good edit, I think, suggested by Robin Behn, as I recall.