ROBERT STEWART 

Fats          

There are good fats and bad fats—
I'm talking to you, Fats, the skinny
guy on stage with a sax, thicker
than your own leg, a leg that's 

a shred of bone and gabardine
slacks. All solos take some greed
for sound and "ain't got no Mama now" 
by Harmonica Fats. "I got no need, 

no Mama, not now." All that aside,
you're Fats, whether narrow or wide,
whether Waller, doing the stride,
or a Creole, Cajun, gastronomical 

survival guide. Listen to Domino:
"The Fat Man" didn't mention food,
Dashiell Hammett's Nick and Nora,
either, or what tune a crooner 

made off with, ain't that a shame.
It's in the name. Saturated or trans,
mono or poly, sound stores up
where the body has its need. 

We get our fats from a reed.

 

From Higher, Winner of Prize Americana

For more from Robert Stewart, buy his book here.  

 

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