Nothing Rhymes with Kerouac
Not the dumbest thing I've ever done.
Jack
stack
hack
rack
Mack
quack
crack
pack
sack
knack
snack
shack
nothing rhymes with Kerouac
lack slack
frack thwack
clack yak
Hackensack
change track
dental plaque
best foot forward
take it back
backtrack
catch flack
Aflac
thumbtack
Big Mac
heart attack
nothing rhymes with Kerouac
unpack repack
jetpack rickrack
knapsack haversack
gunnysack paperback
cardiac Zodiac
maniac brainiac
lilac tarmac
almanac spore sac?
six-pack racetrack
smokestack roof rack
off the rack Prozac
ransack stickleback
coal black dirt track
unstack spice rack
wolf pack Kodiak
ice pack butt crack
haystack Kodak
caddy-shack cul-de-sac
sad sack setback
coatrack gimcrack
fast-track dye pack
chimney stack Bernie Mac
Seabiscuit Hardtack
nothing rhymes with Kerouac
blowback buyback
bareback pushback
backpack while back
out back cut back
throwback comeback
drawback feedback
horseback camelback
saddleback quarterback
hold back hark back
hatchback humpback
hunchback halfback
water off a duck’s back
take aback razorback
laid back rollback
callback cash back
”pickaback means “piggyback”
switchback turnback
mossback setback
finback kickback
clawback fatback
swayback talk back
tailback fullback
touchback wingback
softback tie-back
cornerback canvasback
huckaback ladder-back
back-to-back diamondback
give the kid his money back
playback payback
hit back fight back
right back surprise attack!
nothing rhymes with Kerouac
click-clack tic-tac
yik-yak bric-a-brac
knick-knack paddy-whack
give a dog a shot of smack
book stack bushwhack
bootjack HVAC
shop vac toe crack
goddammit put that back
starterpack shoe rack
Cadillac train track
on track offtrack
sidetrack power’s back!
Amtrak amnesiac
somnambulist insomniac
dipsomaniac ammoniac
need an aphrodisiac
plan of attack counterattack
cyberattack asthma attack
Pontiac elegiac
enlist a pyromaniac
prickleback Radioshack
bike rack streetcar track
anorak hackmatack
out of whack demoniac
jet black in the black
blackjack Jack Black
flapjack Union Jack
crackerjack applejack
steeplejack cheapjack
skip jack screw Jack!
phone jack lumberjack
supplejack amberjack
natterjack yellow jack
carjack skyjack
hijack hi, Jack!
bye, Jack! jumping jack
cognac hit the sack
cat on crack sulindac
wisecrack get shellacked
NOTHING RHYMES WITH KEROUAC
Notes
I wrote this poem when I lived in Marfa, Texas. A friend of a friend was hosting a beat poetry night in honor of what would have been Jack Kerouac’s 100th birthday. When he found out I held a writing degree from the University of Iowa (the undergraduate program, not the Writers’ Workshop), he invited me to write something to read at the party.
To be clear, I know nothing about poetry or Jack Kerouac. But what the hell, anybody can write nonsense. The resulting poem turned out to be a pretty nice exercise in cadence. Note that it’s meant to be performed, not read, so if there’s no one around (or even if there is), feel free to belt it out.