the wall of sound

you had

to turn the dial slowly

on the little

red transistor

radio

to find a station

that was clear enough

to hear.

it lay somewhere between

a world of garbled

static.

like a safe cracker

you held

it up to your ear

and moved

the dial slightly

to the right

then left,

then carefully set it down

on the nightstand

beside your

bed.

the volume

low so as not to wake

up your

brother

on the other side of the room.

then you fell

asleep,

to Motown, to the Beatles,

to the Mersey Beat,

to the Rolling Stones

and Dylan,

to Spector's

wall of sound.