Contributor Series 9: If Men Had Ears
My Father the Jazz Singer
By Elizabeth Stelling
By Elizabeth Stelling
I saw smack daddy arrows heading straight for my heart
amongst the mania expressed moaning in early morning
rain pounding compounding loud hangover grooves of one dollar
beer laced with gin and bottled up good looks stretching truth
as long as a pack of smokes burn before records began skipping
let’s get lost let’s get lost in each other’s arms you sing
lets tell the world we’re lost in the world of bluesy hues
cool harmonies mingled with stuttering laughter at the bar
free stage in the same time rhythm intimate, confidential
soft smooth voice speaking of those left behind careless
calming beautiful was the day you lay in their arms
only knowing what they felt through fretted instruments
believing addiction roamed on clouds far above your reach
when corridor reality lived in the back alleys of in the moment
tunes superadded flavor on the outs with such a short life
I read to you about how Picasso said he abandoned
sculpture engraving and painting to dedicate himself
entirely to song without poetry eyes once closed
embarking on dark beaten paths of Chet Baker’s spirit
stepping up to the microphone with his drunken trumpet
bomp bomp bomp bomp tahhh
whahh whahh whahh ahhhh
de do dooo doo doo do de
bah bah bah bah bahhhh
whahh whahh whahh ahhhh
thank you it’s been a pleasure entertaining you
Elizabeth Stelling’s poem A Mother’s Heart Speaks Volumes appeared here in November 2010.
