RICH AT 100
At the abandoned jazz club,
where I once debuted,
only spiders and rodents
reside behind the acoustical panels
that once resonated my dreams.
I see my distorted image
reflected upon the scarred ride cymbal
of a headless drum set
and feel like an intruder,
disrupting a Buddy Rich riff
when he performed here
a few decades ago,
recruiting my talent
from the nearby jazz school,
adding saxophone colors
to the buried sounds
within your walls,
tucked in your corners
when we precipitated his fury
toward a toe-tapping,
leg swaying percussive jaunt
absconded from an alternate dimension.
I walk this stage,
straining to hear those precious timbres
the recent days have begun to obscure,
solos the rain of years
are washing away,
lost licks recreated indiscernibly
through the pursed lips
of my fatigued embouchure,
sliding my fingernail
across the mangled cymbal,
hoping Buddy’s ghost will play.
_____
Michael Keshigian’s eleventh poetry collection, Inexplicable was released in November, 2016 by Black Poppy Review. Other published books and chapbooks: Beyond, Dark Edges, Eagle’s Perch, Wildflowers, Jazz Face, Warm Summer Memories, Silent Poems, Seeking Solace, Dwindling Knight, Translucent View. Published in numerous national and international journals, he is a 6- time Pushcart Prize and 2-time Best Of The Net nominee. His poetry cycle, Lunar Images, set for Clarinet, Piano, Narrator, was premiered at Del Mar College in Texas. Subsequent performances occurred in Boston (Berklee College) and Moleto, Italy. Winter Moon, a poem set for Soprano and Piano, premiered in Boston.(michaelkeshigian.com).
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sad to remember
sad to remember