Two Poems
Steven Kent

My Life in Music

Singing server, made good dough

Less than one full year ago;

Record label talks increased;

I got signed, then got released;

Album’s in the Closeout bin;

Waiting tables once again.

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Martin Scott

The applause has all ended, the spotlight is down,

The fans have gone home now to sleep.

I might be the last man awake in this town;

I’ve got this arena to sweep.

There are chairs to be folded and bathrooms to clean –

Some glamorous job, am I right?

But still, it’s a living, you know what I mean,

So I’ll be home quite late tonight.

As a young man, I had lots of typical dreams:

I wanted to be in a band.

But touring the world isn’t all that it seems,

A lesson I’d soon understand

After hearing the actors and singers and such

Who come here to stand on our stage –

Relationships crumble, and yet in the clutch

They cling to that show business wage.

I married real early; soon babies arrived.

We needed security, so

I took this position. Do I feel deprived?

On balance, I’d have to say no.

My back hurts much more than it did, this is true;

My hair’s getting thinner and grey,

But Sarah and I have a granddaughter, Sue,

Who comes by to visit each day.

I probably could have gone further in life –

Perhaps fame and fortune, who knows?

Yet I have had such a good time with my wife,

And each year the family grows.

Our kids are now married; they all live nearby.

We see them as much as we can.

We could have been richer, I’m guessing, but why?

That wasn’t a part of our plan.

Hold on – someone else is awake here. It’s Jim,

The lighting guy up in the booth.

(I’ve recently done a few favors for him;

He owes me a solid, in truth.)

Hey Jim, there’s a flattop outside in the car;

Could I have a minute or three

To sing an old song and to play my guitar

While you shine the spotlight on me?

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Steven’s notes: “Here in Nashville, Tennessee, the sad tale of ‘My Life in Music’ is lived experience for a great many men and women who might have become famous if only the dice had shaken out differently. (And still the dreamers just keep flocking here to take their shot in the face of impossibly long odds.) This poem was previously published in Lighten Up Online. ‘Martin Scott,’ which appeared in Pulsebeat Poetry Journal, tells the story of one unsung hero in the music world, the stagehand who prepares his venue for each live performance. I wanted to explore the idea that, rather than envying the successful celebrities he meets, the speaker recognizes that his own quiet existence is more rewarding than their seemingly glamorous lives.“

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Steven Kent is the poetic alter ego of writer and musician Kent Burnside (www.kentburnside.com). His work appears in 251, Asses of Parnassus, The Dirigible Balloon, Light, Lighten Up Online, The Lyric, New Verse News, The Orchards Poetry Journal, Philosophy Now, The Pierian, Pulsebeat Poetry Journal, The Road Not Taken: A Journal of Formal Poetry, Snakeskin, and Well Read. His collections I Tried (And Other Poems, Too) (2023) and Home at Last (2025) are published by Kelsay Books.

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Two Poems Steven Kent

Two Poems
Steven Kent