Bossa Nova for the Turchin Twenties

To the tune of “Para Machucar Meu Coração”;
after Peter Turchin.

Wouldn’t change a thing is what you said, habib,
to coffee as
you danced with your girl—
in dining rooms,
with ice cream spoons,
until the red kuffiyeh curtain call—
the fa-a-all—
but the rapture ain’t a saxophone.

 

Josh Lipson is a student of history, language, and the mind from New Jersey by way of Cambridge, Jerusalem, Istanbul, and San Francisco. His work has been featured in Harbinger Asylum, Obra/Artifact, Three Line Poetry, Angel City Review, Homonym Journal, The Meadow, and Briars Lit. Josh tweets here: @Josh_Lipson