ODe to the Head Nod

by Jonny Teklit

---

of which of course
there are many kinds
the one you offer
the acquaintance
or stranger that passes
in the hallway or street
whom you don’t know
well enough to stop
for a quick conversation
or whom you do but
time demands you be
elsewhere
or the one that escapes
you breathlessly
when your lover
with their hand cupped
against the crescent range
of your hip
who you’ve noticed is
among other things
very good at asking
precise questions
raises their head to
ask you if you’re okay
but your brain too
busy folding itself
over and over again
perhaps into a flower
or a paper crane
by which i mean
too preoccupied
to bother with language
settles for a rapid bobbling
which is very much
but not exactly like
the almost involuntary
and wordless
though not necessarily
without sound
slow nod that follows
the first bite of an
awaited meal
eyes closed after
the day you’ve had
after the unabashed
eagerness
from the server calling
out the name
of your dish
or the silent nod
you give the officer
to prevent the curses
buzzing in your mouth
from getting you
killed
the health inspector nod
the surgery news nod
the proposal nod
giddy
just like the day-
long nod the sunflowers
offer the light
their necks craning
and bowing so
many kinds
but this ode
is not for them
but for the one
i’m feeling tonight
at the outdoor venue
in virginia
the band i’ve waited
months to see
drawing out of me
a dormant delight
the drummer
telegraphing a love letter
through the stage
up my feet
into the capital
city of my body
the rhythm of it
vibrating my chest
pulling my chin
toward each shoulder
head bobbing like a pigeon
chief experts in nodding
the high note contorting
my face into a smile
and a grimace
awe teetering on disgust
the way music does
and to my left
the woman i befriended
at the start of the show
and the men beside her
and the woman beside them
the whole sea of us
in this amphitheater
also caught up
in this nod
the concert nod
the crown jewel
of them all
for the way
every nod and
all their meanings
fold into it:
I see you
keep going
thank god
fuck off
yes
yes
yes

---

Jonny Teklit is a recipient of the 2019 Aliki Perroti and Seth Young Most Promising Young Poet Award. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Adroit Journal, Catapult, and elsewhere. He is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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