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The Sunday Poem is published weekly, and strives to include the poet reading their work.
Jianqing Zheng reads his poem at its conclusion.
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photo by Ken Lund/CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED
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Bourbon Street
Morning is dream time—
inns, strip clubs, and shops
are all eye-closed,
a hobo huddles
under a gray blanket
at a storefront,
neon signs illuminating
the strip all night long
no longer shine,
yet the river fog ambles
like a shrouded walking dead
from an above-ground tomb,
the blurry white sun
in the low sky looks like
a geisha’s face,
everything slumbers
for another night
to swing in the jazz
of Jumbo, Pete, and Fats.
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Listen to Jianqing Zheng read his poem
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Jianqing Zheng is the author of The Dog Years of Reeducation (Madville Publishing, 2023) and A Way of Looking (Silverfish Review Press, 2021). He teaches at a historically black institution in the Mississippi Delta.
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Listen to the 1928 recording of Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five performing “Basin Street Blues” [Columbia/Legacy]
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Click here to read The Sunday Poem
Click here to read “A Collection of Jazz Poetry – Winter, 2024 Edition”
Click here to read “The Old Casino,” J.B. Marlow’s winning story in the 64th 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
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