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photo by Nathan J. Hilton/via Pexels

 

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Pax Vobiscum

Where has the wind blown them, those faces
that peopled my early days? Have they embraced
the dust, or do they rust in lonely rooms unknown
by passersby? Is the rain for them a lamentation

or a blues ballad to fill long slow nights?
Would it matter to them to know how many
silent interludes of thought have been filled
by their voices, ideas, laughter, generosity?

They are more alive for me in thought, gesture, word, and action
than any who now surround me in a dizzying whirl
of daily hubbub where everyone demands total attention,
instant affection, complete and unquestioning approval.

Did I once make similar demands on those who now ghost
through silent days unaware of how much they gave me?
Do I slowly fade as I age into a shadow which will haunt others?
Do I erode into memory for others as I drift through their lives?

Ah, the wind and rain and the steady drip drip drip of memory
from eaves, through cracked windows, off the porch’s awning.
I will hear your whisper, old friends and mentors, into the grave,
your serious commitment to others, so many others, seldom yourselves.

I shelter under trees at the edge of a wood. They are you.
Root, branch, and budding leaf, all have grown from your seeds.
I idly scatter seeds of my own. Will they take root?
People seldom know their value. Listen to me, all you locked away

in silent rooms, buried in indifferent soil, scattered upon the wind: you
matter, you live on in the gestures, voices, walks, thoughts, and words
of those who have come after you. You did more good than harm, gave
more love than cruelty. Birds sing from branches sprung from you.

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Listen to Jerry Jazz Musician editor read Michael L. Newell’s poem

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Michael L. Newell lives on the Atlantic Coast of Florida. His most recent book of poems is Passage of a Heart. Click here to read “What is this Path” – a collection of his poems published on Jerry Jazz Musician

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Listen to the 1959 recording of pianist Horace Silver performing his composition “Peace,” with Blue Mitchell (trumpet); Junior Cook (tenor saxophone); Eugene Taylor (bass); and Louis Hayes (drums).

[Universal Music Group]

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Click for:

A Letter From the Editor: On “The Weary Blues: Celebrating Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance”

Information about the book Kinds of Cool: An Interactive Collection of Jazz Poetry, Vol. II (featuring women poets)

The Sunday Poem Archive

“21 jazz poems on the 21st” collections

More poetry on Jerry Jazz Musician

“Where the Music Wasn’t Allowed,” Jane McCarthy’s winning story in the 71st Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest

More short fiction on Jerry Jazz Musician

Information about how to submit your poetry or short fiction

Subscribe to the (free) Jerry Jazz Musician quarterly newsletter

Helping to support the ongoing publication of Jerry Jazz Musician, and to keep it commercial-free (thank you!)

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Jerry Jazz Musician…human produced since 1999

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