Midsummer Dream House publishes my poem “Kid Cudi at the Whole Foods”

I’m not a Kid Cudi fan nor do I even know his music. However, I’ve written a poem which bears his name.

Midsummer Dream House published it this week.

The poem was originally prompted by a comical encounter I had at the Whole Foods at Bowery & Houston in NoLita a few years ago.

A bit lost in the late night aisles like me, a fellow shopper mistakenly thought I was bonding with him over the Kid Cudi song that was playing over the intercom; evidently the song stirred some nostalgia for this guy. It meant nothing to me (I was much older than he was.) But he seemed to think I was right there with him as we both hopelessly trailed our respective partners through the store while they remained hyper-focused on their grocery shopping missions. Comic chaos ensued as the two of us connected and disconnected.

The phrase “Kid Cudi at the Whole Foods” languished in my notebook for couple of years. Thankfully, earlier this year when I learned about the fevered 19th-century debate between Romantic composers over “program” music and “pure” music—i.e., music that functions as a reflection versus music that exists in its own right—I turned to my Kid Cudi story as a vehicle for a poem on the subject. The debate seemed like an analogy to today’s clash over A.I.

A park just east of the Whole Foods also makes an appearance in the poem, though it’s also the park just south of my own apartment here in Seattle.

An odd footnote: Shortly after the Whole Foods comedy, I googled Kid Cudi. The guy from the aisle bore an uncanny resemblance to the pop star.

Thanks to Midsummer Dream House for once again publishing one of my dispatches.