A Poem & a Song by RC Johnston

The Screaming Turtle
                        by RC Johnston

I heard a turtle screaming
Inside its tarnished shell
Sounds of bombs and gunfire
From the bottom of a well
It did not sound like music
More like inner agony
Which, is itself, like music
Mixed with reality

I heard a turtle screaming
A most unearthly wail
Those sounds, they echoed in my ears
My heart and breath did fail
But yet, they were familiar
'Twas like I knew them too
The screaming of that turtle
Did chill me through and through

I heard a turtle screaming
Beneath the sunbaked ground
A quiet hillside bathed in warmth
With bronze plaques all around
Each grave held a spirit
That shared a tale or two
And, the screaming of that turtle
Was the soundtrack to that view

Composed on what would have been John's 74th birthday, February 28, 2013...

I visited John's grave the day after I played at Lightbar, in Portland, Oregon, September 19, 2013...I had Dix with me and I played "Death of the Clayton Peacock" while sitting at John's grave...Cheers!!! Ralph.

Ralph also recorded a new song this week. Inspired by his recollections of this visit he brings us "A Tearful Stephen King Carries the Body of the Late, Great Clayton Peacock To a Pet Sematary Just Down the Road" It's a cool lo-fi recording: to listen click HERE or to d/l it just right click and select 'save link as...'.

Ralph says the tuning is D-A-A-D-A-C
"I play it with my bone slide on my little finger, but it can also be played lapstyle, as I fret no notes with my fingers..."