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The Sunday Poem is published weekly, and strives to include the poet reading their work.
Terrance Underwood reads his poem at its conclusion.
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Egberto Gismonti/Portrait by Gert Chesi/via Wikimedia Commons
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Ode to Palhaço
an ocean’s
unseen diffractions
swept away by effects
of last night’s
Miami Moon
what’s left
is Portuguese
a fugitive figure
unpainted
standing kindly
at surf’s
tidal edge
lonely sounds
primeval
a rainforest melody
issued from
a carved
bamboo
pifano
while a short
distance down
that otherwise
still idle
inactive beach
an unruffled pianist
secluded within
palm frond shadows
catches those
lilting strains
before joining
to advance
a Gismonti
title song
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Listen to Terrance Underwood read his poem
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Terrance Underwood is a retired Gas Turbine Package Engineer whose career offered opportunities to work all over the world. A devoted jazz enthusiast, his first memory operating a mechanical devise was a 4-speed spindle drop record changer for his father’s collection of 78s. In 2024, he was nominated by Jerry Jazz Musician for a Pushcart Prize.
Click here to read Proceeding From Behind: A collection of poems grounded in the rhythmic, relating to the remarkable, by Terrance Underwood
Click here to read his collection of poems “With Ease in Mind”
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Listen to the 1979 recording of Egberto Gismonti performing his composition “Palhaco” [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)
“21 jazz poems on the 21st” collections
More poetry on Jerry Jazz Musician
“La Fontaine,” Ashlee Trahan’s winning story in the 72nd 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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