.

.

The Sunday Poem  is published weekly, and strives to include the poet reading their work.

C.J. Trotter reads her poem at its conclusion.

.

.

___

.

.

photo via NegativeSpace

.

.

Why I Play Guitar

because Jupiter is 1300 times the volume of the Earth
because milkweeds in the yard are as beautiful as
……………“Hushabye”
because on clear nights the moon pours in my window
……………like a spotlight and makes me think
……………Paul Simon’s in the room
because my brother programs computers that process
……………billions of instructions per second
because Walt Whitman shows up in my dreams dressed
……………as a boxelder tree
because at twelve I realized guitar strings vibrate like
……………a chorus of cherry blossoms
because dark roast coffee makes my neck hairs sing
because my grandpa’s felt fedora reminds me
……………of Rockaway Beach in winter
because be-bop has enough muscle to bump me
……………out of gloomerville
because my shoes support my whims and never complain
because my apartment building is so old it may have
……………once housed Rapunzel
because my eyes get wet when I hear Lennon’s
……………“Starting Over”
because I prefer costume jewelry over the fancy stuff
because my fingers on the fretboard want to do magic tricks
because the universe is endless and yet I forget
……………to feel small
because Hendrix could play guitar with his teeth
because sometimes my body is a seismograph and
……………senses pulses underground
because my cat Curly lives in outer space but finds
……………time to write me gushy love notes
because my father thought he sang like Frank Sinatra
because the breeze along the Hudson whispers
……………Edward Hopper paintings
because playing guitar requires finger callouses
……………but they are proof of desire
because 2024 is the year of the Dragon and what
……………does that mean anyway
because I knew a man who lived in a tree for a week
because the pentatonic scale is a staircase leading
…………..to B. B. King’s old stomping ground
because a city sidewalk can squawk as loud
……………as a Houndstooth pants-pattern
because when musical notes party together they turn
……………into the ocean
because the color red is intimidating but fiercely generous
because I pretend to understand how the big things
……………work but basically have no idea
because my mother put on mascara before bringing in
……………the mail
because jazz counters culture like a Ferlinghetti poem

.

Listen to C.J. Trotter read her poem

.

.

___

.

.

 

C.J. Trotter (a.k.a. Christine Trotter) is a poet and fiction writer based in New York City.  She has been nominated for 2024’s Best of the Net, and one of her poems was published in Poetry Daily. Her work has also appeared in RockPaperPoem, Euphony, Crack the Spine, FishFood, Spank the Carp, Elm, Typehouse, and Cimarron Review, among other publications.

.

.

Listen to the 1980 recording of John Lennon performing his composition “[Just Like] Starting Over”  [Universal Music Group]

.

.

.

.

___

.

.

Click here to read previous editions of The Sunday Poem

Click here to read “A Collection of Jazz Poetry – Spring/Summer, 2024 Edition”

Click here to read “Ballad,” Lúcia Leão’s winning story in the 65th 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

Click here to help support the ongoing publication of Jerry Jazz Musician, and to keep it commercial-free (thank you!)

.

___

.

.

Jerry Jazz Musician…human produced (and AI-free) since 1999

.

.

.