By 1967, something dark was growing in the heart of America.
It's all hits -- there's no fat on it at all;
something for the old-school rockers, the hillbillies, the thugs, the sinners and the saints.
A few hours before showtime,
Rock n' Roll Jesus scans YouTube for footage of people being tasered,
indulging in his pre-show ritual: scrambled eggs and toast.

A nearly three-hour extravaganza,
the high energy show also features onstage strippers.
Rock n' Roll Jesus tears his eyes away from the carnage.
"Here I am, on fire for God, and I'm listening to him sing,
'I'm gonna fuck you like I'm never gonna see you again.'"
And the whole fucking time, no one in the crowd sat down.

When they get on the bus, it's "Let's rock n' roll!"
drinking and spinning classics on the iPod,
a few choice nuggets.
Everyone sins all night,
a descent into drug-addled parody,
freely mixing fact and legend for the groupies.

When they get off the bus, it's "Let's rock n' roll!"
Rock n' Roll Jesus starts where he left off in this fiercely imagined, kaleidoscopic novel
as vivid as Brian Jones as he raced toward death.
The words "peace" and "love" had been used so many times
they meant almost anything,
including their opposites.

02/13/2008

Author's Note: Collage-and-cutout poem: The lines of this poem were taken from two articles in this month's issue of Rolling Stone, "Sympathy for the Devil" by Jonathan Ringen and "Backstage with Kid Rock" by Austin Scaggs.

Posted on 02/13/2008
Copyright © 2010 Stephanie Lane Sutton