Cinquain
By James Wilkins
Guitar
Dirty intense
Shredding, screaming, daring
Everything being played today
Handaxe
Dirty intense
Shredding, screaming, daring
Everything being played today
Handaxe
Ode to Gyros
By James Wilkins
Oh gyros
You are so savory
Full of tender lamb and something green
You are better than spaghetti and pizza and maybe even ramen.
Gyros, you make me feel like mighty like a Greek god.
I wish I could eat you every week of the month because eating you every day would make me get tired of you and I'm not trying to get tired of my favorite food.
Nick makes you the best,
One day, I will too.
Gyros, this holiday is fun because of you
I am glad that gyros exist.
You are so savory
Full of tender lamb and something green
You are better than spaghetti and pizza and maybe even ramen.
Gyros, you make me feel like mighty like a Greek god.
I wish I could eat you every week of the month because eating you every day would make me get tired of you and I'm not trying to get tired of my favorite food.
Nick makes you the best,
One day, I will too.
Gyros, this holiday is fun because of you
I am glad that gyros exist.
I Am
By James Wilkins
I am from a piano that I still swear is in tune.
from a CD player and guitar that couldn't help but rattle and hum.
I am from riots, among my siblings and in my headphones
and loud noise as my brother watched movies in the living room.
I am from a tree with red leaves
whose branches dropped upon us unknown cherries that roasted on the hot summer concrete.
I am from video game escapes and "Different, not less" shirts that faded from my wardrobe as I experienced public school.
From Wilkins and Ilic.
I am from Peruvians, Serbians, and Americans, all of them describing themselves as warriors.
From pop culture quotes and geeking out over science fiction with my eldest sister.
From a practiced journey to Zion.
I am from King Arthur and James Wilkins.
From chicha morada and smash chicken.
From an Elvis concert my grandfather saw in Las Vegas
and from his piloting glider planes when he was younger
From his telling me, "I always wanted a pilot in the family."
And from a pen that I knew would one day be the key to proving my worth.
I am from those moments I picked up that cheap stratocaster that always seemed to go back to those three notes
D flat, A flat, and C
With enough delay (and a good microphone), they sound heavenly, like a doubtful question
I am from the memories I picture as I play it.
The countless times it's been played on our car radios or been snuck into playlists by my father
"I have climbed highest mountains" it says
I'm from the mountains I climbed with my family, burning my legs and making me feel powerful--Angel's landing and Half Dome
"I have run through the fields"
I'm from the almond orchards I ran through with Ethan and Vincent during our elementary school years.
Where I'm from is a part of me.
I will always acknowledge that.
But I'm not done yet.
I still haven't found what I'm looking for.
Lyrics from U2's 1987 song, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." off of "The Joshua Tree"
from a CD player and guitar that couldn't help but rattle and hum.
I am from riots, among my siblings and in my headphones
and loud noise as my brother watched movies in the living room.
I am from a tree with red leaves
whose branches dropped upon us unknown cherries that roasted on the hot summer concrete.
I am from video game escapes and "Different, not less" shirts that faded from my wardrobe as I experienced public school.
From Wilkins and Ilic.
I am from Peruvians, Serbians, and Americans, all of them describing themselves as warriors.
From pop culture quotes and geeking out over science fiction with my eldest sister.
From a practiced journey to Zion.
I am from King Arthur and James Wilkins.
From chicha morada and smash chicken.
From an Elvis concert my grandfather saw in Las Vegas
and from his piloting glider planes when he was younger
From his telling me, "I always wanted a pilot in the family."
And from a pen that I knew would one day be the key to proving my worth.
I am from those moments I picked up that cheap stratocaster that always seemed to go back to those three notes
D flat, A flat, and C
With enough delay (and a good microphone), they sound heavenly, like a doubtful question
I am from the memories I picture as I play it.
The countless times it's been played on our car radios or been snuck into playlists by my father
"I have climbed highest mountains" it says
I'm from the mountains I climbed with my family, burning my legs and making me feel powerful--Angel's landing and Half Dome
"I have run through the fields"
I'm from the almond orchards I ran through with Ethan and Vincent during our elementary school years.
Where I'm from is a part of me.
I will always acknowledge that.
But I'm not done yet.
I still haven't found what I'm looking for.
Lyrics from U2's 1987 song, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." off of "The Joshua Tree"
The Eldredge Knot
Oh, tie knot that took me ten whole minutes
Jazz would be not the same without you in it.
Etched In The Sky
by James Wilkins
The sky's a canvas
My silhouette is painted
Upon the gray clouds