Music Tour

1. Memphis, Tennessee

   Beale Street

   the smell of BBQ stronger

   than the blues

2. Helena, Arkansas

   King Biscuit Blues
   the music follows me
   to the river pier

3. Clarksdale, Mississippi

   Ground Zero juke
   even the mic stand
   a bit tipsy

4. Greenville, Mississippi

   Delta blues
   the casino boat
   slightly rocking

5. New Orleans, Louisiana

   death celebration
   a jazz parade dancing
   to the cemetery

Delta Rain

The pit-a-pat of rain on magnolia leaves
Creates a percussion of rhythmic drumbeats
That stirs the dreary night into a dreamless blues.

Rain, rain, rain, my roof’s been leaking all night,
Rain, rain, rain, my roof’s been leaking all night,
I sing from my heart to the mercy of the rain.

Now rain starts to beat a rhythm in my mind,
Now rain starts to dance a rhythm in my mind,
Now rain is a blues song, rain is no longer rain.

If it rains for seven days I’ll go dance in a juke,
If it rains for seven days I’ll go drone in a juke.
Now rain is a blues song, rain is no longer rain.

I’ll let rain irrigate the fields of my body,
I’ll let rain flow in the veins of my body,
I’ll let rain weave for me a blues tapestry.

Nightscape

On the balcony
of a Bourbon Street inn

a woman, who’s been sitting
by the wrought iron table

and drinking
a glass of red wine,

hollers at sightseers.
They look up.

She guffaws
and pulls her blouse

to shake her breasts
for a second.

A burst of handclaps,
whistles, cheers, yells

like Mardi Gras revelers
craving for throws,

each face,
illuminated by neon lights,

shimmers
like a Halloween ghost.