Calisthenic, Week 9 (make-up)

from the documentary lyric exercise on pp. 211-214 in Writing Poetry.

"I Commit My Spirit"

CBGB, 1974.  They etch punk rock
into the marquee moon with electricity
and a hey-ho.  Richard Hell and Tom
Verlaine inject Patti Smith and Lenny
Kaye with a double shot of protopunk,
which they will gladly inject into the
lanky arms of high-schoolers in 1975,
like a saint with an electric syringe.

CBGB, 2006.  Patti Smith grabs the mic
and belts a sermon--an Elegie.  The club
is her Mount; Hilly is the sovereign, the
almighty.  She gives the last rites--
"Johnny, Joey, and Dee Dee Ramone."
The baptism commences, the crucifixion
completes. CBGB, 33.