Issue 30, Remnants

4 Poems

by Francine Rubin • • Issue 16 • 09.01.2008

K-Feddish
January 2007
Fresno’s sidewalks crack with crank’s jolt,
pulse with Run’s beats1: Turntables wobble
but they don’t fall down.2
Peeps bagged up for hawking
dope, shots bang down
the street, I get out.

Flip. Shimmy. Crunk. Cutting it up
on L.A. stages, I barely earn my keep.
Rent a pad in the Hills.
Drink Cristal3 at Skybar with celebutantes.
Pink’s tour, second from end.
LFO. Michael Jackson. Justin.4
Cozy with Brit, secret marriage in Cali
City. These mad dreams I’m towing,
you can’t know where I’m going.

Chaotic.5 Sean Preston. Pavarottis.6
Flashbulbs pop. Stardom
stalks me. My music has to come out,
PopoZoa,7 Playing With Fire,8 crazy
wire, passionate beats getting higher
on a cloud you can’t see.

Fights. Less sex. And Jayden James,
marriage takes a turn,
dive. Mocked by the media.
Divorce. Custody battles. Alone,
I keep my head up and put
it in rhymes: my dreams
drifting, sinking against
the shit of time, life is mean.
No one knows what I’ve seen.

1 I ran with the wrong crowd as a kid. Music, especially music by Run DMC, saved me from that life.
2 “Peter Piper,” by Run DMC.
3 Jay-Z claimed in 2006 that the CEO of Cristal is racist, and he removed all mention of Cristal from his lyrics. I don’t believe the CEO is racist and still support Cristal.
4 I danced backup for Pink, L.F.O., Michael Jackson, and Justin Timberlake.
5 I starred in this 6-episode reality show airing Tuesdays on UPN from May 17 to June 14, 2005.
6 I know they’re “paparazzi.” I call them Pavarottis for fun.
7 Portuguese slang for “big ass.” This song was released on January 1, 2006, as my first single.
8 Released by Reincarnate Music on October 31, 2006. Available at amazon.com.

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Francine Rubin

Francine Rubin

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Francine Rubin is a graduate student at Columbia University, working towards becoming a certified high school English teacher. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College and a BA in Theater from Dartmouth College. When not studying or writing, Ms. Rubin may be found in a dance studio. She recently performed in site-specific work at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and for the last five years has taught ballet to children and adults throughout the Northeast. Her poetry has previously appeared in the Long Island Pulse.