I need to get on back
back to when things were real
back to when music had soul
and love was a done deal

a return to the night sky
as true as the dawn
before the shots rang out
before all the heroes were gone

take me on a soul ride
to where I really belong
let me hear a jukebox playing
those sweet, old R&B songs

I need the sweet California sun
so fresh and so new
like it was so long ago
when nothing clouded the view

the present was so right then
the future seemed such a drag
it seemed we had it all together
it seemed we had it in the bag

take me on a soul ride
where all the stories began
come back to the five-and-dime
to a lost and mystic land…

(from “Part Three: Seduced By Fantasy…”)

The ‘title track’ of these poems and an homage to the era I basically live in. 1954-1963. I think my original intention was to make this an epic but I guess I never returned to it.