Halima and Chet
( from the photo by William Claxton )
Halema
with the soulful jazz eyes
deep dreaming the notes
both effortlessly surfing
riding the joy
not yet tugged under
by the sorrow
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Editors note:
The poet notes that his poem is titled “Halima and Chet” because that is the way the photographer William Claxton spelled her name during the famed 1955 Redondo Beach, California photo session. The correct spelling of her name is actually “Halema.”
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photo by Casey Rearick
dan smith is the author of two chapbooks: Crooked River and The Liquid of Her Skin, the Suns of Her Eyes published by Deep Cleveland Press and Night Ballet Press respectively. He has been published in the Rhysling Anthology, Dwarf Stars, Scifaikuest, Renegade Flowers: d.a. levy in the Digital Revolution, Kaleidotrope, Zen of the Dead and Lupine Lunes published by Popcorn Press, microcosms, Red Fez, Hedgerow: A Journal of Small Poems and Failed Haiku to name a few.
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A Moment in Time — Chet Baker, 1956
“It’s Always You”
“My Ideal”
a lovely poem
Lovely, delicate work. The two closing lines are perfect.