THE TEENAGE BAND by John Grey

We were crap at first.

But we had the instruments,

the amps, and we looked good on stage.

We needed the attention,

the applause.

Did we get better?

Yes.

But not as good as we wanted to be.

Friends and family,

and kids with no place else to go

came to see us.

Our gigs were the same few places.

We got paid enough for picks and drumsticks.

We figured our audience deserved better.

But we gave them 

barely recognizable cover tunes,

a couple of lame originals,

a hideous drum solo,

and loud riffs

that our bassist never could follow.

The clapping seemed more sympathetic 

than genuine happiness.

But we stuck with it.

As folks tell you,

if you stick with it

something good is bound to happen.

It never did.

Truth is,

if you stick with it

it just means

you’re stuck with it.

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in

Hawaii Pacific Review, Dalhousie Review and Qwerty with work upcoming

in Blueline, Willard and Maple and Clade Song.