If you never knew John Mann
you might still have heard
his music
although it’s not the kind
you hear with your ears
but with your body
tricking you
into dancing
except his softer songs
where your heart
tries to push
against your chest
to get a better seat
and yet he died
the way people do
silently
so we play his music
louder now
than we ever did
and yesterday
that long line up
of faces who loved him
our hair and black
clothes whipping
in the wind
ninety kilometres an hour
the radio said
or was it just John
trying to tip
us over
tricking us
into dancing.