Redmond, Chris

LET THE PIG OUT

1. Eddie is twelve years old and timid.
2. I’m teaching him the drums
3. but there’s something lacking.
4. I say, Eddie,
5. your hi-hats are steady,
6. snare’s rocking the two and four,
7. bass drum’s pushing off beats.
8. It’s red raw,
9. but you’ve got meat on the bone now.
10. But Eddie, tell me what you’re drumming for,
11. because these beats are not fat-back.
12. They’re not even a wet slap.
13. You can’t cook at this temperature.
14. It’s said a drummer can summon spirits
15. from Africa’s pulsing core, whose voices
16. have been echoing through every generation
17. since our ancestors first stood on two feet.
18. But right now you’re pushing this beat around
19. like food on a plate you haven’t had to work for.
20. Like a too-polite, under the breath, apologetic,
21. ever so, thank you, please, could I?
22. Should I? Play it… like … this?
23. Eddie, whoever’s holding you down,
24. I’m taking their foot off your neck,
25. so look up.
26. Untether yourself.
27. We need to make libations to the drum gods.
28. Drink, I’ll summon them.
29. We need to light a fire here,
30. wrap ourselves in smoke. Remember,
31. this is wood in your hands
32. and the polymer you strike
33. still holds the moniker of skin.
34. Not long ago, calves died
35. for you to play beats on their hide,
36. so at least do them the honour
37. of playing with a passion
38. befitting of such a sacrifice.
39. Eddie. Let the pig out.
40. Eddie says, ‘What do you mean?’
41. Let the pig out.
42. There’s no other way to say it.
43. Let the pig out.
44. It’s all about how you play
45. this grunty, funky,
46. heavy-arsed, munchy,
47. angry stink of a
48. muddy-guts, pink or
49. white or black with a
50. hairy fat belly. Let the
51. pig out, Eddie, let the
52. beats get smelly.
53. Let the pig out.
54. Let the hi-hats splash,
55. get the snare drum cracking.
56. Push the beat across the bar,
57. then kick the fucker back in.
58. Let the pig out.
59. That pig is Gullinbursti,
60. steed of Norse god Freyr,
61. who spreads light through the land
62. with his golden hair.
63. That pig pulls Marici,
64. Buddhist goddess of the heavens,
65. all-seeing, holding the sun
66. and moon in her hands.
67. That pig belongs to Set,
68. brother and enemy of Osiris.
69. Set becomes the god
70. of chaos and darkness.
71. That pig is Varaha,
72. incarnation of Vishnu,
73. who fought and won a thousand-year
74. battle to save the Earth, Eddie,
75. and it’s you, c’rnon,
76. the pig is inside.
77. And when you release the beast,
78. cast your worries to one side.
79. It’ll untie your tongue-tie,
80. trample your burden.
81. The pig is your friend, Eddie.
82. Of that much I’m certain.
83. Let the pig out.
84. To the kid getting bullied at school
85. ’cause he’s different. Let the pig out.
86. To the girl with a song in her heart
87. but no one to sing to. Let the pig out.
88. To every artist, writer, dancer,
89. poet, musician. Let the pig out.
90. To the people around the world
91. standing up for change. Let the pig out.
92. To the nurse who lost her job
93. so the banker can keep his bonus. Let the pig out.
94. To the widow who learns beyond grief,
95. there’s a choice. Let the pig out.
96. To the bipolar explorer choosing
97. adventure and medication. Let the pig out.
98. To every little Eddie,
99. finding a voice.