involuntarily,

as I woke up with
“Keep Yourself Alive”
in my ear for no
obvious reason.

I hear (like it was yesterday,
like it was the first time again)
the chug of Brian’s 
guitar throughout 
and especially
the creamy and climactic ascension
of chorused notes following 
the back and forth lines
between Roger and Brian
before Freddy kicks back in with them
for their final
exhortations.

I first heard this Song when
I was thirteen or fourteen
and it hit like a religion
and made me want to shine forth;
today
I don’t think 
there’s any god in there
or anywhere
that cares much whether or not
I feel the same.

I’m thinking instead
I should have listened more closely
all these years
for more of John Deacon,
remarkable anchor
too often unremarked;

like him, I’ve lived my life
more often in
the background
of whatever cosmos
I found myself in
and now, like him,
I’ve withdrawn in a effort
to do what the song
has always said I should do.