April 4th, 2009
Link • Poems, Tributes • 1 Comment
Regie Gibson
EULOGY OF JIMI CHRIST
look at the sky
turn a hell fire red lawd
somebodies house is burnin down down down
look at the sky turn a hell fire red lawd
somebodies house is burin down down down down…
—Jimi Hendrix
I.
burn it down
you burned it all the way down jimi
made us burn
in the flame
that became yo sound jimigrabbed ol legba
by his neck
made him
show you yo respecthoochieman
coochie man
stranglin him
hoochie coochie hoodooman
wrangled him voodoo chilemade
his
steel
strings sing
ache
bend
breaksin
capitulate
give in
to the will
of yo beautifully
blessed fingersbewitchinly
bleedin
bittersweet
south paw
serendipitous
sighsand strained
stratacaster tearssoothin burnin
twistin turnin
into steam
as they fellno
careened
toward all hellbound soulsonly to
rollback into yo
gypsied eyesto fornicate
copulate
be sodomized
by penetration beautiful
of sweatband born acid rainII.
a purple haze runnin through
yo brain drained into the veins
of daytrippers turned acid angel
by yo gift of little wingswhich with the aid
of yo mary cryin winds soared
not merely above
around and through
crosstown trafficbut along/well beyond
watchtowers to realm
where gods made love
to little miss strange
foxy ladies in little red houses
over yonderand on rainy days
would sit back
shoot craps
with laughin sams dice
while boastin bout who had
the most experienceIII.
how that musebruise
of yo sadomasochistic bluesoozed
through floors and l.s.d. doorsleft psychedelic relics wrecked
on phosphorescent shorestalkin bout that night
you got right
at yo heightrocked woodstock
played yo remade
american anthemhad all the flowers
in the garden chantingo head brotha
piss off the power
structure brothasay fuck ya
to the structure brotha
one mo time one last time
befo its yo last time brothastick/move
hit/run
stick/move hit/run
try to get
yo ass beyond
the grip of the grim onetry to get
yo ass out of
the sight line of deathtry to get
yo ass past
the reach
the reaperby dodgin
that sonofabitch
betwixt the expanse
of jangled cacophonous chords
and hidin out in shadows flooded with feedback
jimi the anointed
jimi the christjimi
you manically depressed
maniacally duressed
manifested messiahimpaled upon the neck
of that thang you loved the best
yo one hearts true burnin desirejimi christ
forever walkin
on the waters
of a bad tripturnin all of
them bad trips
into winecastin yo net
upon the waters
of a bad trip
just to see whats there
for you to findjimi christ
patron saint
of divine distortiontoo soon
did you force
the hand of demisebut i aint pissed
gypsy eyescause right now
we diggin on the thought
of you and yo homeboy godbein somewhere
out there in electric lady land
sippin celestial moonshinebout to tune axes
cut heads
and go
toe to toe
blow for blow
lick for lick
stick for stickjimi christ
too soon did you force
the hand of demise
but i aint pissed
at you gypsy eyescause i dig that any mother lover
who lived a life like you led
deserved to die any death desiredto die youngto die
highto die stonedto
die freeto die youngto die highto die stonedto die
freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeall we wanted was one time
just one time
to stand next to yo fire
–from Rattle #27, Summer 2007
Tribute to Slam Poetry
§ One Response to “Eulogy of Jimi Christ” by Regie Gibson
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Regie performed this when we brought him up to our school in the Upper Pennisula of Michigan. It was FANTASTIC! This one got everyone to their feet for a standing ovation.
Thanks for posting it.
Mat