Yusef Lateef and She
by Ed Coletti
Her splintering heart,
“Ma, he
makin’ eyes at
me!
“Alto breakin’
waves on me,
ma,
on me!”
No ambiguity
all clarity,
“It me, Ma,
his eyes for me.
“Ma, his sax
stop for the piano”
—break—
swings again,
“Ma,
he back
swingin’,
for me,
“Ain’t that jazz
though?
It all for
me,
“Not
‘bout me
but for
me,
“His gift
this jazz,
it all
over me.”
_____
For Stan Getz
by Ed Coletti
Where the Volga flows
your sweet tenor woes
your Stan Getzness
never forgets us
with this Russian rose.
Sets my soul aflame
no matter your acclaim,
riffing riffing always riffing
whatever’s done is now forgiven,
Sonia was her name.
Your horn’s eternal cries
make me fantasize,
what a tender bride
what a frantic ride,
her dark flashing eyes
Those eyes that hypnotize
those deep Brazilian sighs
Orfeo seeks his stolen love
peace has lost its moaning dove,
Discover her before love dies.
__________
Ed Coletti is a poet widely published internationally and he curates the popular blog “No Money In Poetry.” Additionally, Ed is a painter. middling chess player, and harmonica player. He lives with his wife Joyce in Santa Rosa, California. His upcoming book is titled Apollo Blue’s Hard and The Gods of Spring.
A great variety and a splendid collection of jazz
Gorgeous poem, Patricia! So much richness in so few words.
To bring from the lips to the ear or the fingers to the ear and into the body so much of life and love is such a fine thing that the poet and the musician have married here that all we can do that is celebrate and hallelujah.
I’m very happy to be part of such a fine collection. I particularly enjoyed Michael Newell’s ‘Vintage Inn ..’ and Lawrence Koumas’s lovely little anecdote.
This collection has too many good poems and poets to acknowledge every poem and every poet worthy of attention. I will, therefore, single out a handful of poets who moved me deeply. The list would include Gannon Daniels, Robert Nisbet, Susana Case, Dan Franch, Patricia Carragon, John Stupp, and Aurora Lewis. If I went back and reread all the poems for a fourth or fifth time, I would likely expand this list considerably. I tip my hat to all the fine artists in this collection, and I thank Joseph Maita for putting all these fine poems together in such an appealing way.
Michael,
I especially like the way the way the two settings, outside and inside the Inn in the first poem, as in these lines:
outside the night is filled
with cigarette smoke lightning
and Lithia Creek swirling over rocks
In the second poem, I hear the music playing in the background of the second poem.
I am pleased that I was able to participate in a poetry writing event which includes the deeply felt emotions of jazz music and love and its individual expressions in form and format. I will read these with great pleasure. This idea to showcase it on Valentines date was terrific.