A Jimmy Page Non-Appearance
Rumor has it Jimmy Page played here one night.
Just dropped in with his guitar, sat on one
of those chrome stools and picked out blues riffs
from ten o’clock until close to midnight.
But it wasn’t Jimmy Page. Just a friend of
mine from college named Billy. There was
a certain resemblance, mostly in the hairstyle.
And he didn’t correct the error. Billy just
churned out solo after solo to an audience
of whispers. I was the one started the rumors.
Sitting way at the back, I told everybody within
earshot, “That’s Jimmy Page.” No one
questioned what the Led Zeppelin maestro
was doing in this out-of-the-way dump.
They needed to believe as much as I did
to say it. So I got an ego boost. The crowd
felt special. And Billy spent two hours doing what
he loves to do best. Rumor has it Jimmy Page
played here one night. But it was really two
hours of wish-fulfillment and he was just as good.
John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in
Hawaii Pacific Review, Dalhousie Review and Qwerty with work upcoming
in Blueline, Willard and Maple and Steam Ticket.
Rumor has it Jimmy Page played here one night.
Just dropped in with his guitar, sat on one
of those chrome stools and picked out blues riffs
from ten o’clock until close to midnight.
But it wasn’t Jimmy Page. Just a friend of
mine from college named Billy. There was
a certain resemblance, mostly in the hairstyle.
And he didn’t correct the error. Billy just
churned out solo after solo to an audience
of whispers. I was the one started the rumors.
Sitting way at the back, I told everybody within
earshot, “That’s Jimmy Page.” No one
questioned what the Led Zeppelin maestro
was doing in this out-of-the-way dump.
They needed to believe as much as I did
to say it. So I got an ego boost. The crowd
felt special. And Billy spent two hours doing what
he loves to do best. Rumor has it Jimmy Page
played here one night. But it was really two
hours of wish-fulfillment and he was just as good.
John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in
Hawaii Pacific Review, Dalhousie Review and Qwerty with work upcoming
in Blueline, Willard and Maple and Steam Ticket.
