music by Nina Simone ... poetry by Scott Woods

an excerpt from,
HOW TO BUILD A JUKE JOINT by Scott Woods

..."If the roof leaks, leave it.
You need the holes and cracks to let
the SwampFolk come and go
as they please.
If Mother Nature sees fit to knock a
good-sized hole in said roof that
bypasses quaint,
every table then becomes negotiable.

Set up a lost & found in case
someone needs a hair pin or
the band needs a harp in B-flat or you
need a spare .25 bullet.
Keep your pens in cigar box
and your cigars in your pocket.

Never put in anything new.
View decoration as either a
personal vendetta or a communal effort.

Make it the pimp's living room,
the wino's heaven.
Let the tramps stamp it with their spit and
their knife-carved memories,
right into the bar.

Above all, own it. Never share it.
Brand it with your fists.
Tongue its tiles and pool stick-poked panels.
Swim in its booths and to the jukebox's
skipping 45s." ...

(from page 15 & 16 of "We Over Here Now" by Scott Woods)