581. Carl Sandburg, His Home, & Skating Polly

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches…

…and then moves on.

I slipped my fingers into a set of knucks,
Cast-iron knucks molded in a foundry pattern,
And there came to me a set of thoughts like these:
Mister Fischman is for Abe and the “malice to none” stuff,
And the street car strikers and the strike-breakers,
And the sluggers, gunmen, detectives, policemen,
Judges, utility heads, newspapers, priests, lawyers,
They are all for Abe and the “malice to none” stuff.

I started for the door.
“Maybe you want a lighter pair,”
Came Mister Fischman’s voice.
I opened the door … and the voice again:
“You are a funny customer.”

Wrapped in battle flags,
Wrapped in the smoke of memories,
This is the place they brought him,
This is Abraham Lincoln’s home town.

Oh yeah, everyone has a place they call home, hell you can have several places you can home, Middleton, Boise, Eagle, C-Springs, Grapevine, Ranger, TX, John Day, Burns, Oregon… and Seattle, Woodinvale, WA… hell we might as well throw Hendersonville and Flat Rock, NC in there as well. It’s where Carl Sandburg called home, Flat Rock… and his home is still there…. Here, near here where I’m at. I’d say a mere stones throw but shit…. That would be one hell of an arm and also not an original way to say… simply… it’s nearby.

What do Carl Sandburg and Skating Polly have in common, well they both had homes and they are both artists…

Well the family outfit of Skating Polly hails from Oklahoma, yeah that Oklahoma… you know… North Texas extended?? OKC, the City, the big one in Oklahoma. Step sisters… Kelli Drew Mayo (born March 29, 2000) and Peyton McKenna Bighorse got it started. They added in some more Mayo…. Kelli’s bro in fact… Kurtis Lee in fact… bam a Band.

Oh boy, you’ve got a knack for melody and
Oh boy, I know you think you’re pretty
Oh boy, those lyrics do have meaning
I will prove it

I got a castle in my sky for you and I
And it’s rumored there might be a prize
I’m gonna build myself a moat around our abode ’cause
Thieves made me shy

And if we fail together well…
No, that’s not really failure

Everyone has a home, everyone has a voice…. whether you are a punk-core band out of OKC or a beloved American Poet who was a Tar Heel. Homes and words and noise….