Self Portrait: Rejected Pop Song (after Dean Rader)

I am not the metronome

I am not God’s sense of timing

I am not the song stuck in your head

I am not the hit single, not the single

You are not the record company

You are not the music scene, not its artists

You are not hell’s amplified accordion

You are not the Billboard charts

Don’t tell me you’re the pitch corrector

Don’t tell me you’re the _____, the _____

Don’t tell me you’re the golden reach around

Don’t tell me you’re the new Motown

Just tell me you’re the spirit of soul

Just tell me you’re the perfect pair of headphones

Just tell me you’re the brown note, the brown note

Just tell me you’re the arpeggio

No one is the conductor

No one is the violinist’s bow

No one is the Grand Ole Opry stage

No one is the soloist’s anxiety

We are the inspiration

We are the groove

We are the sound, the sound

We are this the