Poem of the Week: What Kinds of Things Do I Like

I like that Charles Wright
progresses from jazz to country
as he moves through the ear
unafraid to place a broken piece
of straw in his mouth
I like that Facebook can never get close
to gathering the full range of meanings
of what like is like
or its different levels of intensity
I like that P46 beat P45
without raising a hand or fist
though definitely raising the tone
I like extra hot flat white coffee
I like that three women
and three men are on
a national poetry award shortlist
I like Levi’s blue jeans
I like them so much
I buy a second pair
and there’s no product placement here
in that I am not getting paid for this
I like that I love Joni Mitchell’s Blue
I like Monet’s blue snow in La Pie
and looking upward
I like that blue light is scattered
more than the other colours in white light
and yes the resultant unbelievable blue

James Finnegan’s second collection of poems, The Weather-Beaten Scarecrow (Doire Press, 2022) was shortlisted in the Farmgate Café National Poetry Award in 2023. A third collection, On Leaving the Field, is on its way