Some babies are born with

their souls tied up in knots

umbilical chords tangled 

at the roots 

of the music

playing in their hearts

stars are singing

in their heads

birds fly

from their lips

the wind builds nests

in their ears

no one knows 

what jazz this is

not even their mothers

who must improvise.

Guy Roads is the pen name for the chief executive officer at World Poetry Headquarters, which is located in the heart of the Gin Mountain Range, up above the timberline overlooking a wild river that flows every direction in the free country of the mind where all are welcome. His work has been published, in Mad Swirl, Blue Collar Review, Nerve Cowboy, Hummingbird, Trailer Park Quarterly, Beatnik Cowboy, and BeatLife, among others.