“Record Scratch” by Sarah Thursday

How many times do we
replay the broken record
How many times do we
get up and jump the needle

 

Do we hold on for nostalgia’s sake
Do those crackle-rich and cotton-
thick grooves sing better songs

 

How many repeats and repeats
until it’s time to retire or never
Just resign ourselves to unrest
get up again and again

 

Records don’t learn new songs
They don’t unscratch or smooth out
Should we pack it up and
store it in our memories

 

Move on to modern times
where everything and everyone
is easily replaceable

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah Thursday was mostly raised in Long Beach, California. She teaches 4th and 5th grade, is obsessed with music, and has only recently dove into poetry again. She has forthcoming or has been published in The Long Beach Union (CSULB), The Atticus Review, Eunoia Review, East Jasmine Review, The Camel Saloon, poeticdiversity, Chaparral, and Pyrokinection. Recently, she has become the editor of Cadence Collective: Long Beach Poets, almost by accident, but completely on purpose.  sarahthursday.com