so i made some tapes from
sonsg i ripped off the internet
fed the cabel from the computer
into my [pre-ipod] walkman but
the songs all came out mono got
the wrong stereo jack so now i
listen to the songs in one ear
while the other tries to hear
leans in yearns for the music
& my brain too (this interface)
tries to reconvert to create
a whole town or district from
the one channel i’ve given it
on the ferry i felt like belfast
like a city caught in the cross-
fade that moment between beats
when anything could happen – if
violence erupts i will think of
my brother & of sinn fein – of
murals of armagh & of the bloody
weekdays/ weekends yearning for
stereo sanctity cursed by my own
lack of tech (my pre-digital tape
deck … boys whose anthems need
no vinyl no top of the pop-offs
& with this wind in my hair or
these drunk americans who believe
all croatians are up themselves
i’m listening with that other
ear to music: the peacemaker &
the mix-tape that saves all of us
from monotonous virulent fade-outs
