“Seventies Playlist” by Joe Barca
Seventies Playlist
Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” is the first single
I purchase — a purple disc sits on the spinning turntable .
“Sugar Sugar” by The Archies plays on the jukebox
my first day of work as a pizza maker at Happy Chef. I get
a free slice of pepperoni. I smoke my first joint as I listen
to “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin. I reek when I go home.
The first song that I slow-dance to is “Love the One Your With” by Crosby
Stills, Nash, and Young — at a party in Kathy O’Neill’s basement.
She smells like Yves Saint Lauren. I have sex for the first time
in a brown leather recliner. We listen to “Aint No Sunshine”
by Bill Withers. My girlfriend is babysitting. Kids fast asleep.
“Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac is on the porch radio when we get the call.
My cousin drowned in a river on the edge of adolescence.
Joe Barca is a poet from the Boston area. He has a partner, two children, and a wheaten terrier named Brady. He is a regular contributor to The Poetry Space podcast, and he reads for Whale Road Review. His work has been included in Rattle, One Art, and South Florida Poetry Journal. Some of his favorite poets are Mai Der Vang, Kevin Young, and Alexis Sears.
