My poem for @smittenbypoetry ‘s February challenge/game:

2024

If you’ve ever gone to a Mountain Goats show and waited in line outside for hours or gotten chummy with folks in the crowd, you know how deep the lore runs. It can make you feel small in the blink of an eye. Your undying love for “Cubs In Five” becomes instantly overshadowed by the guy with a tape recorder in his pocket who can recite setlists from 2004 gigs in states the Mountain Goats rarely make it out to anymore. But what’s beautiful about that scariness—even if you feel like your fandom is not enough—is that...there is such an undercurrent of love, affection and hope at every turn. At some point over the last 30 years, these people found Darnielle’s writing—be it via his boombox recordings or via the label-backed, concept-album concertos—and elected to devote a piece of themselves to loving these songs so much that, no matter what mix-and-matched setlist is thrown at them, they are ready to sing along with every note.