got the blues got the jazz

[revolutionR]

I got the blues and I got the jazz
I got lightning and thunder inside my head
got the no clues and got the no pass go
been down the rabbit hole so long
been kickin the gong around for centuries
listening to that crazy sound
trying to keep my feet on the ground
but my sight is up there in them elephant clouds
been walking down this here alley looking for a light
following the flicker of a lit match into the gloom
sax playing somewhere off in the distant fog
neon signs blinking off and on like devil directions
been living in this poem I found in Golden Sardine
like some strange dream that keeps turning around me
like a smoke snake that whispers to me through the cafe door

I got the blues and I got the jazz got the hoodoo too too
I was born a poet from the bottom of my soul, who are you?
some hot damn woman is trying to mess with my messed mind
I saw Bobby Kaufman today walking down Broadway
I saw him yesterday like some holy ghost in a shaman serape
I'm still reading that poem the one he spoke to me so cool
the words came out like china white just before it hit the C note
all in one sentence with no pause in between the stars blowing
from the sun through the moon, all in one laughing smote
like jazz pure as the Frisco night, a blues smile lingering for awhile

hey buddy can you spare a wind chime tinkling on the freaky breeze
kinky woman trying to sing her sorcery songs bring me to my knees
but that endless poem I been reading since I can't remember when

[68degrees]

"Hey buddy can you spare a wind chime…"

Found poetry is one thing. Found music is also out there if we take the time to really listen (e.g. a woman's soft laugh, a Cardinal at dusk, the drone of the city, the grandfather clock in my foyer at 3 am).

Enjoyed this. Thanks for posting.

68degrees

[revolutionR]

Bobby Kaufman as a "jazz poet" was as much about the meaning of words as the sound of them.