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 shout it out.