Some people barely tiptoe
through the multiverse, if
they ever notice it at all.
Others soar on color, line,
on rhythm, tempo, vision.
On poetry swirling like silk.
Listen to that smooth, mellow
tenor sax as he croons, spoons,
caresses, cajoles, teases, tempts.
His roads were paved with be-bob,
fusion, funk, hard bop, symphony,
opera, even chamber quartets.
His footprints knew no limits.
No regrets. Once you start out,
There is no reason to stop.
Take his lead. The weather
report is good. The route mellow.
You know some band mates —
Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Herbie
Hancock, Esmerelda Spalding,
Joni Mitchell, Milton
Nascimento, Steely Dan, Carlos
Santana, Terri Lyne Carrington.
You know some tunes—Juju,
Nefertiti, Iphigenia, Endangered
Species, Gaia, Speak No Evil.
We all grooved down those paths,
as he soothed our way home.
Every note was a prompt,
every sound a clue, every tone a
tricked out treat, every twitch
a temptation to stop, then soar.
He is now well on his way
along enlightenment’s pathway.
In the key of cool.
Mary K O'Melveny is a recently retired labor rights attorney who lives in Washington DC and Woodstock NY. Her work has appeared in various print and on-line journals. Her most recent poetry collection is Dispatches From the Memory Care Museum, just out from Kelsay Books. Her first poetry chapbook A Woman of a Certain Age is available from Finishing Line Press. Mary’s poetry collection Merging Star Hypotheses was published by Finishing Line Press in January, 2020.
