new take on an old song—
jazz singer K. J. Denhert
taking “Help”
four notches down
from the manic chase scene
to a slow tempo plea
drummer Ray Brown’s combo
sapping jaunt from FDR’s
campaign song “Happy
Days Are Here Again”
“The Star-Spangled Banner”
exploding from Jimi’s guitar—
an extraordinary rendition—
but none so extraordinary
as hooded men, hands
cuffed behind them,
led across wet tarmac
to a plane bound
for unnamed destinations—
dank basements, jails
no one could visit
instruments of torture
old as the Middle Ages—
new take on an old song
