Liner Notes for Living in the Kingdom
by Trevor Nikrant
This poem was written to accompany Living in the Kingdom, an album of songs by Trevor Nikrant, released on January 13, 2018. However, in the whirlwind of DIY record manufacturing, it didn’t make it into the packaging. It appears here for the first time.
This morning I sat on the porch
I sat with my coffee and the overstuffed mailbox and the stray cat
And the porch sat there with me, underneath me
I'm sure, and the street was in front
And I sat there
I sat and I remembered how they dressed him up
I remembered how far up they dressed him
Dressed him all the way up and still he would not go
But they dressed him up and up
Dressed him so up he could forget to look down
Dressed him and all of that, but still he would not think of going
And they took so much time with the dressing of him
Dressing him so high that he could never look down
But he would still not go
So I sat and I remembered the dressing and his not going
And I remembered the stacks of books behind me, inside
I remembered the books and I heard them
Heard their roaring, the books
Reading themselves
Reading each other
Always roaring and reading and wanting to be forgotten
But I remembered the books and I heard their roaring
And I wondered if they had been dressed up
Wondered if they could look down
If they would go
And this morning in the overstuffed mailbox I found coupons
Quarter Notes Magazine 