that they may know

that they may know

I teach my children 
through music
   Ella Fitzgerald
   Dizzy Gillespie
   Nina Simone
because the things I think I know
like dust and scratches
provide no resonance 

I teach my children
stereo and mono
show them a steady hand 
how to place the needle
in the pause before a song
the quiet in-between

I teach my children to listen
hear the train’s whistle
of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee
revel in the stories
discovered anew

I teach my children this language
to harmonize their minds 
black-lines in vinyl
spinning history 
a revolution