Honey Pie

honey pie
(the white album)

unfashionable and conspicuous

in tattoo
text and metal

we caught those silver rings
in tongues / the cheek
and sucked
‘till they broke the surface

every other elephant god in the room
would also swap

their teeth for the story

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This poem was awarded First Place (Teacher) for Poetry Object 2016

Judge's Notes:
"This poem attracted me because, despite the context - a song I am familiar with from the so-called White Album - it was trying to say some things I’m not sure I fully grasp, and I am happy for that. Much like when, although you try to read further and further into a thing, there is always something eluding you. The poem also treats The Beatles’ song not just as itself but as artefact / icon, part of that strange beast, The White Album (not even its official title). ‘Honey Pie’ (not to be confused with the Beach Boys-referencing ‘Wild Honey Pie’ on the same album), of course, is Paul McCartney’s pastiche of an old-time music hall ballad, with its 78rpm crackle enhancing that impression, giving it a cutsey aura. The song’s lyrics also reference the ‘silver screen’, an old-fashioned way of talking about cinema, just as ‘silver’ hovers in the poem. The song stands out amongst the other more complex lyrics or louder rock or even proto-metal sounds on the album, as in the words of the poem, ‘unfashionable and conspicuous’. I could start to wonder about the poem’s images, such as the ‘elephant god’ and think of The Beatles in India, or the elephant god Ganesha, perhaps even dancing. I could wonder about ‘those silver rings’ and be distracted by ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’ ringing out, and I know I’d be wrong. We all want to know ‘the story’ and we never will. Does the writer have their tongue in their cheek? Most likely. The album, the original vinyl one certainly, spins as it will, nonetheless."
~ Jill Jones, Judge, Poetry Object 2016