FULL OF FAT
From discarded crumbs,
like falling stars onto stage
horns and strings form dreams
from blues and tears, where fear has
no place and lies
provides promises past midnight while
jazz makes people hungry
and rhythm
tops off the soul like
cities
next to rivers
smothering the seeds of hate while
raising hands in a battle cry with
sorrow songs
curling the blood
as the sound tops out
like waves
making heaven open
and angels cry.
BREAKING SOUND
The jazz sweeps
the lonesome
from me
feeding my needs
and filling my wants
digging into deep
and pulling up
like an anchor
rising from the
dark blue
breaking the
gold blue surface
releasing my pain
spinning it
like a top
faster into fast
onto the floor
past dancing feet
breaking the sound
into pieces
sweetened with tears
soft to the taste
sliding on the
tongue
mixed with whisky
cooled by ice
baptized with smoke
and cherished like
lipstick
waiting for me.
_____
Roger Singer is a prolific and accomplished contributing poet who we have proudly published for many years. Singer has had almost 800 poems published in magazines, periodicals and online journals — 400 of which are jazz poems — and has recently self-published a Kindle edition of his book of jazz poetry called Poetic Jazz.
“Jazz poetry flows out with such ease,” Singer writes on his blog. “The people and places, the alleys and sawdust jazz clubs. The stories that bring jazz alive with horns and voices, from sadness and grief to highs at midnight and love gone wrong. The jazz is within us all. Find your poem and feel the music.”
