People-watching at concerts
“Getting Where We’re Going” by John Brehm
One of my greatest flaws, according to close friends and people I’ve just met, is that I do not like concerts. Of course, I’m always willing to be persuaded — so maybe it is better stated that I have never been to a concert that didn’t leave me tired, hungry, sore, and generally disgruntled. So what better poem to convey that mood than “Getting Where We’re Going”?
The poem starts off:
“If I had a car in this town I’d
rig it up with a rear bumper horn,
something to blast back at the jackasses
who honk the second the light turns green.”
Brehm is unapologetic in his portrayal of the humans of New York. He describes all the honkhorns in the city as bringing Jesus down with his fingers in his ears. The speaker’s tone is harsh and cynnical, right up until the last line when he says:
“We’d still be
waiting for someone else to come
and make us happy, staring
through whatever’s in front of us,
cursing the light that never seems to change.”
After painting a picture of the irascible, never satisfied New Yorker, Brehm hits us with this line. The critique here seemed fairly clear to me. I don’t believe that you can just make yourself “be happy” at the drop of a hat, but I do think there is something to be said about outlook, about working toward your own happiness instead of complaining about current frustrations that is worth thinking about.
So this time when I went to a concert, I focused on what I know I do like about large crowds. I like people watching. I like making up stories. I like walking around — and if there happens to be loud music, or jostling, or sore feet, that’s something I can move around.
Check out my instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/poetryisoutthere/
Read the full poem here:
