With the People That Matter

In high school, there weren’t enough of us
for a saxophone section, let alone a GSA.
Three kids passing one alto back and forth,
spit pooling in the mouthpiece,
sometimes swapping reeds, sometimes forgetting.

Here, there are hundreds to get horny with—
marching bands, jazz combos, activist brass,
second lines snaking through the ruins of old rail yards,
ska kids skanking in the shadows of the Burnside Bridge.

The kind of sound and speech
that would’ve gotten us laughed out of our hometowns
rings out from festival stages
and settles deep in the bones.

by Kayla Kennett