‘Room in New York’ by Edward Hopper — Image via

Icky Thump

A poem

Melancholic

He sits, stirs his

Gin and tonic, endures

Sonic sadness, before his

Vitriolic,

Hyperbolic

Sin and more

Demonic madness occurs.

A workaholic,

Alcoholic,

Despotic

Psychotic with

No diagnosis;

Only knows his

Automatic, episodic

Fear grows chaotic,

Proposes panic, dear,

And your manic tears

Fall like rain in this

Bitter atmosphere.

And you drown,

Can’t swim free,

Imprisoned in

Satanic misery.

Still

Laconic, he jumps,

And keeps you grounded

With an icky thump.

Pablo Picasso’s ‘Woman Ironing’ (La repasseuse), Paris, 1904. Oil on canvas, 116.2 x 73 cm. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Thannhauser Collection, Gift, Justin K. Thannhauser 78.2514.41. © 2012 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Kristopher McKay — Image via guggenheim.org