the clothed woman
for Duke Ellington
by Steve Dalachinsky
strip away her layers
& here we have an approach
to all histories
thru memory & skin
thru learning tolerance
& precious cost
thru practice
& sometimes soothing balms
strip away the layers
like the logic of collage
first the shoes
the stockings the bodice
the dress the slip the panties
the bra the flesh the bone
the senses the organs
the water the blood
the scraps
the mind bending materials
& tone colors
infused with fractured light.
strip away necessity
the all & the whatevers
strip them away until what you have left
is her,
irregular circles & the symmetry of movement.
_____
Charles Gayle Trio
anniversary #2
by Steve Dalachinsky
you & i
like 2 breeds
2 movies
the same characters
different scripts
same sets
& times
different voices
you & i
in love for the first time
& maybe never at all
i am exhausted
& out of ice
i bite every chance i get
yet you still tell
me
i am cute.
_____
memory & skin – The David S. Ware Qt.
by Steve Dalachinsky
1.
his sound is linked
to memory &
skin
the hollow screaming that
skin does when lovers
in a dry sweat
rub against each other
hollow & full
his sound
filled with what we all have
beneath our skins
repeating memory
of body
reviving memory
of body
& then dropped
she drops memories on the air
they’re forgotten
& gotten again
the way memories are
revived
like skin
hollowed out
scraping against itself
producing a metal sound
a vocal stab in the back
@ futures’ end
& the embrace that only lovers
can share.
_____
set 2 Charles Gayle – William Parker duo
Love Poem from the Woman’s Point of View
by Steve Dalachinsky
he likes me in red
that’s nice so
i’ll wear RED more often
especially when i think
i might
see him.
_____
pomegranates (for y.o.) – David Murray at Carlos 1
by Steve Dalchinsky
you see he said I’m getting worried
we’re starting to sound alike –
yes you sound a lot like Sonny
well the song is Tenor Madness he says
& a bit like Albert
gee I wish I sounded a bit like Ayler now
oh but you’re sounding a lot more like yourself
the experimental psychology student wears a thin long sleeved black turtle neck
& she rests her elbows on the table in front of me in the front of the club
she wears a soft subtle smile & her teeth show @ a high point in the solo
her eyes are a soft natural bulge
a shake
oh the women in the house
are cheeks of fresh strawberries
bows of fine spun linen
their earlobes stretched emeralds
hidden clusters of amethyst & ruby
fresh unfolding flowers defying gravity
i miss you because i am alone
& because i miss you
there is a drumming in my soul of insecure longing & lust
of which only you can touch
without having my fear run rampant
so when i am done imagining
i imagine you – i need to solo & be soloed on
the cheeks of the women
are pale pomegranates &
poor promises
the tenor player is not himself tonite
tho sometimes he is.
________
Steve Dalachinsky is a New York downtown poet. He is active in the poetry, music, art, and free jazz scene. Dalachinsky’s main influences are the Beats, William Blake, The Odyssey, obsession, socio-political angst, human disappointment, music (especially Jazz), and visual art with leanings toward abstraction. Dalachinsky’s books include “A Superintendent’s Eyes” (Hozomeen Press 2000), his PEN Award Winning book The Final Nite & Other Poems: Complete Notes From A Charles Gayle Notebook 1987-2006 (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2006), a compendium of poetry written while watching saxophonist Charles Gayle perform throughout New York City in that time period, and “Logos and Language”, co-authored with pianist Matthew Shipp (RogueArt 2008) and Reaching Into The Unknown, a collaboration with French photographer Jacques Bisceglia (RogueArt 2009).
For a complete biography, visit his Wikipedia page.
A great variety and a splendid collection of jazz
Gorgeous poem, Patricia! So much richness in so few words.
To bring from the lips to the ear or the fingers to the ear and into the body so much of life and love is such a fine thing that the poet and the musician have married here that all we can do that is celebrate and hallelujah.
I’m very happy to be part of such a fine collection. I particularly enjoyed Michael Newell’s ‘Vintage Inn ..’ and Lawrence Koumas’s lovely little anecdote.
This collection has too many good poems and poets to acknowledge every poem and every poet worthy of attention. I will, therefore, single out a handful of poets who moved me deeply. The list would include Gannon Daniels, Robert Nisbet, Susana Case, Dan Franch, Patricia Carragon, John Stupp, and Aurora Lewis. If I went back and reread all the poems for a fourth or fifth time, I would likely expand this list considerably. I tip my hat to all the fine artists in this collection, and I thank Joseph Maita for putting all these fine poems together in such an appealing way.
Michael,
I especially like the way the way the two settings, outside and inside the Inn in the first poem, as in these lines:
outside the night is filled
with cigarette smoke lightning
and Lithia Creek swirling over rocks
In the second poem, I hear the music playing in the background of the second poem.
I am pleased that I was able to participate in a poetry writing event which includes the deeply felt emotions of jazz music and love and its individual expressions in form and format. I will read these with great pleasure. This idea to showcase it on Valentines date was terrific.