POEM: poems for foolish hearts

Posted 29 November, 2011 in Jazz, Music, My poems, Poetry

Listen to this poem using the player above.

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Tonight I went to see Foolish Hearts, a duo with Peter Eldridge and Matt Aronoff. They were amazing — a master class in musicianship at the highest level paired with an incredibly emotional connection with the crowd. As I often do, I wrote a poem while listening to them. This is an acrostic poem. Not a format I often use, but it seemed like a fun place to start. I took several photos tonight, too, which you can see here.

From

poems for foolish hearts

1.

picture me
even now, waiting
till you arrive
even now
remembering the last time
even now
looking toward the back of the room
darting ever-so-casual glances
ready to wave you over
I have to confess I
didn’t expect to be here alone
giving myself over to the music
even now

2.

meet me
at Cornelia Street
tonight, wearing
that dress
ask me to
remember
or kiss me
now before
one of us
falls to earth
from this narrow ledge

POEM: cafe conversation

Posted 29 November, 2011 in My poems, Poetry

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cafe conversation

boat pulls alongside
cannons firing
captain peers
through the smoke
for signs of a hit
shouted orders
harsh commands
the meaty thunk of balls
rammed into cannon mouths
tongues of flame following
as they fly
into the manufactured fog
a moment’s quiet would reveal
that his prey
slipped into the night
long ago
•
the sea floor
is thick
with misplaced iron

POEM: noir

Posted 26 November, 2011 in My poems, Poetry

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noir

I could write a hundred poems
about the look of your sleeping face
here where the wood stove waits
for fast-approaching winter

I’m on the floor in front of your couch
surrounded by books of poetry
kept company by the constant hum
of our modern age and the ageless
sound of your breathing

not even Sam Spade could unravel
the intricate mystery of how
we came to be here tonight
but as soon as you walked into the cafe
I knew you were trouble

POEM: Thanksgiving Day

Posted 24 November, 2011 in Family, My poems, Poetry

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Thanksgiving Day

Prospect Ave rooftop
two sisters, one lover
endless blue sky
iced tea and cigarettes
next roof over pigeons
gathered for the holiday

we laugh, hold hands
feel the sun on our faces
grateful for the morning
for bagels and cream cheese
for reunited families
for the laughter of children

half my heart is missing
the other half is here

POEM: Elwood P. Dowd

Posted 19 November, 2011 in My poems, Poetry

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Elwood P. Dowd

these days
everyone is
beautiful

I may not
have a
rabbit

but I’m trying
to make
friends

POEM: Cale on the 6

Posted 18 November, 2011 in Music, My poems, New York City, Poetry

Listen to this poem using the player above.

I wrote this today on the 6 train while listening to John Cale’s album Vintage Violence.

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Cale on the 6

John Cale’s on the uptown 6
singing about Adelaide
Spring to Bleeker to Astor Place
on a November day
that finally feels like winter
there’s a guy a few seats down
who’s a ringer for Robert Pinsky
(whom I last saw in Boston
reading poems to commemorate 9/11)
five more stops and I’ll be at the temple
with the money lenders and usurers
meanwhile there are happy hands
clapping on the Cale album
and a tambourine that sounds
like a baby laughing
I feel I should tell you this
so we’ll both know

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