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photo via Wikimedia Commons
Alfred Jarry in Corbeil, France; c. 1898
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The Death of Alfred Jarry
.…………“There are those, he said to me once, who would speak easily of things of which we long to dream. And there are those who would dream alone.” (unknown spirit)
.…………“I am dying. Please …. bring me a toothpick.” (last words of Alfred Jarry, playwright)
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Give the man a toothpick,
he is dying!
Perhaps his teeth need cleaning,
Sweet starchy deposits of his life trapped
and pleading for rescue
from the dying body
From downstairs a saxophone
weaves its tangled fingers between the banister poles
Quiet white sheets make no reply
The window remains closed
Hurry, the man needs a pick
he is dying!
The clock’s motor sings to the wall
There are holes to be dug
The drumbeat of his heart taps out an SOS
to his head high on the pillows
An empty brandy bottle sits on the night-table
The tarnished brass bed-frame offers no reflection
A piano tiptoes up the stairs and dances
by the bedroom door smiling
He doesn’t look up
The piano brings no toothpick
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Bill Siegel lives in the Boston MA area, and writes both prose and poetry to express his love of jazz. Bill’s work appears in Indigenous Pop: Native American Music from Jazz to Hip Hop (Univ of Arizona Press, 2016); AllAboutJazz.com; inmotionmagazine.com; International Poetry Review; Brilliant Corners; Blue Mesa Review: Cruzando Fronteras (Crossing Borders); and other publications. He also created and manages jimpepperlives.wordpress.com, a collection of articles, poetry and news celebrating the work of the late saxophonist, Jim Pepper.
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Listen to the pianist Lang Lang perform Erik Satie’s late 19th century composition “Gnossienne: No. 1” [Universal Music Group]
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