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photo via pickpik.com
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And Here We Are: A Post-election Thanksgiving
Tenuous
It’s probably always
been tenuous
The notion
…..The concept
of democracy and
how it was designed
to protect us
On this post-election holiday
spent with family (or should I say
……………….“…chosen family”
On a day when lines are drawn
and our darkest-before-the-dawn
premonitions seem glaringly clear
I yearn for a young
truth-before-power Bob Dylan
with a hard rain’s gonna fall
meditation for us all
I’d be glad to forfeit
a turkey leg and candied yams for some
Nina Simone Electoral College Goddam!
kinda jams
I’m old enough to remember a time
when music didn’t just move our bodies,
it mobilized and energized our minds
……………so I’d be thankful for
……….a 2024 reboot of…
A Pete Seeger medley
A John Lennon re-imagining
A Marvin Gaye pondering
of what’s going on?
Just something to keep us strong
………….as we hold each other tight
It’s a post-election Thanksgiving Day
…………………and I’ve gotta say:
I’ve lost my appetite
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Listen to Connie Johnson read her poem
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Connie Johnson is a Pushcart Prize-nominated writer from Los Angeles, California whose poetry has appeared in several journals and anthologies. She turns to writers like Gwendolyn Brooks, Audre Lorde and Lucille Clifton when she needs a little inspiration. And she agrees with Clifton who said: “Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language.”
Click here to read the Jerry Jazz Musician-published In a Place of Dreams: Connie Johnson’s album of jazz poetry, music, and life stories
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Listen to the 1971 recording of Marvin Gaye performing “What’s Going On” [Universal Music Group]
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Click here to read The Sunday Poem
Click here to read “Not From Around Here,” Jeff Dingler’s winning story in the 66th Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest
Click here for information about how to submit your poetry or short fiction
Click here to subscribe to the (free) Jerry Jazz Musician quarterly newsletter
Click here to help 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 (and AI-free) since 1999
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