Pop Songs for Popcorn Movies

This is my poem

about trying to write a poem

about Kenny Loggins’ 80’s hit,

Danger Zone

You just keep singing

the same damn lines, Kenny,

over and over

You aren’t giving me much

to work with

Sick guitar solos

and thumping bass lines

aren’t easy to translate

to the page

Looking for any inspiration,

I rewatch the music video

all these years later

and now I’m wondering, Kenny,

What the hell are you doing

lying in bed??

I mean, I know what Tom Cruise is doing,

whipping around the sky, pulling shades on,

trying to make killing look cool, look sexy

Oops. Sorry, I mean, trying to make defense

look cool, look sexy

The script will need to pass approval

of the US Navy after all

But you, Kenny, you like in the bed

of your darkened room,

ceiling fan slowly whirring,

like the atrocities won’t leave your head

no matter how hard you try

Like you are Martin Sheen

in Apocalypse Now

But you aren’t delving

into the horrors of war, Kenny,

you’re turning it into a pop song

for a popcorn movie

where the ones receiving fire

are all off screen,

their deaths of no concern

Who needs heartbeats

as long as you’ve got the beat

As long as you help enlistment rise,

500% for naval aviator application

marks a job well done, paycheck earned

Maybe behind the money, Kenny,

you’re simply lying in your bed muttering,

“I took the mission,

What the hell else was I gonna do?”

So lay back down, Kenny,

because we are going under

Under your engine

Under her wings

Under her howiln’ roar

Under metal

Under tension

Under twilight

Under the edges

Under the red ine

Under intensity

Under propaganda

Under the military’s watchful eye

Under…

business as usual

in America

Written June 2025, a take on “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins. This was part of my 2025 appearance on Interprotations, a Tyler Hawes event, where three different artists covered/interpreted the same set list in very different ways.