like nobody else
James Brown (1933-2006), live, Paris, 1968
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill.

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reading table
You shout from the other room
You ask me how to spell boogie-woogie
And instantly I think what luck
no war has been declared
no fire has consumed
our city’s monuments
our bodies our dwellings
The river didn’t flood
no friends
have been arrested
It’s only boogie-woogie
I sigh relieved
and say it’s spelled just like it sounds
boogie-woogie
—Adam Zagajewski (1945–2021), “Boogie-Woogie” (translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh)
basement jukebox
Bobby Bland (1930-2013), “That’s the Way Love Is,” 1963
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lagniappe
reading table
Plates and bowls
dim in the darkness
cool of the evening—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from the Japanese by David Young