Tuesday, July 9, 2019

The Stonewall Shuffle


The Stonewall Shuffle

By John Kaniecki

It was an ancient time of regret
When LGBTQ were simply letters of the alphabet
Where the closet was the only safe place
And Stonewall a haven of grace
In came the police
Allegedly keeping the peace
But the lesson
Was simply brutal oppression
But unlike all the times before
These were the parting shots of a war
In Greenwich Village on the street
The protests grew and drew the heat
And so a movement had begun
But freedom is never won
Every generation
Needs to seek their own salvation
For the forces of those in control
Seek to devour mind body and soul
So take a chance
And dance
The Stonewall Shuffle
Put your right foot in
Be confident you will win
Take your left arm out
Fight without any doubt
Twist your body all around
In the struggle your own self will be found
Take your partner by the hand
Years later they’ll come to understand
As police commissioner James O’Neill said in his sorry song
We were wrong, we were wrong, we were wrong
Now keep both feet planted
Don’t take anything for granted
Because what rules the moment
Is whatever is expedient
So live life in what is wonderful
Do the Stonewall Shuffle




Enter the poetic world of John Kaniecki.....

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Wolfgang Howl


Wolfgang Howl

By John Kaniecki

On a moonless eve
When clouds shroud the sky
They gather their instruments in a growl
They are the Wolfgang Howl
The darkest heavy metal band
Rocking any land
A fine canine gang
Cursing in fluent slang
The lead singer
Is Abdul the cool pit bull
On bass with a pudgy face
Is Rex with paws of grace
Shredding the electronic axe
The mighty Doberman Jack
Playing drums with his tail
Is Bert the mutt with a wild wail
There is a host of foxes back stage
All underage
No punk cats dare go
To the rocking show
“We are the Wolfgang Howl with drooling fangs”
“Our songs are supreme with the biggest of bangs”
“Give us some steaks we don’t want any bones”
“We are royal dogs sitting on golden thrones”
“We run in the day we prowl in the night”
“We do more than bark we’re willing to fight”
Their album went platinum
They were number one
All of the mailmen were overcome
And we’re put on the run
The Wolfgang Howl proud and defiant
They came together meeting at a fire hydrant
But alas they all got fat and lazy
Jack went acoustic and Abdul went crazy
They split vowing never to reunite no more
But alas it came to pass they had a fair well tour
Because despite all of their flaws
They were true to the cause
And they liked the money for sure


Enter the poetic world of John Kaniecki.....