Lightning

a few hits of whiskey are always good for a few lines of poetry
they say writing is therapy and if it is, I should have been cured by now

I can’t face the day without a drink, and couldn’t face a drink without a few others

being sober is so healthy and...boring!

I stopped looking for the truth

maybe there is no truth, if there is, maybe it’s better we don’t know what it is

we might all be in for a disappointment

wait a second...hold my coffee…

I always go out and stand in the pouring rain at least once a summer 

for the exhilaration of it, for the craziness of it

lightning struck not three feet of me, white and yellow was all I could see

there was nothing mysterious about it, it clearly was a case of the paranormal

I went back inside dripping wet, nobody paid attention, nobody cared

the music playing inside took me back to the good old days of heedlessness

and the what me worry attitude that went with it

I still had it, at least somewhat anyway

so where does the time go? it passes by without so much as a whisper

while we’re looking the other way or not paying attention at all

I got a free newspaper that they keep around the place

for people who forgot their ubiquitous laptops

I was writing down the schedule for ships to the far east just in case I decided to board one

the spirit was willing but the common sense wasn’t

New Orleans

flying into Louis Armstrong airport, engine revved of good times ahead
hello nola, hello dolly

long music-laden nights, days of urban exploration 

New Orleans has some fascinating old cemeteries I’m just dying to visit

houses of voodoo and black magic

must remember to pace myself tonight

there’s a lot of bars I wanna hit, a lot of notes to be heard

it was a hot, airless night, but I didn’t care…

I was on Bourbon Street listening to cool jazz, hot jazz, fusion jazz

I don’t know what it is jazz, dixieland, cover bands

so much music, so little time

I wish Al Hirt and Pete Fountain were still around

either the night ended or the morning began, I”m not sure

********zzzzzzz

drinking copious amounts of coffee this morning in quaint french quarter coffee houses

in an attempt to revive myself////tired, so tired

I look so poor, the panhandlers leave me alone

the ancient gnarled trees draping themselves over Lake Pontchartrain; 

witness to much I’m sure

stayin’ out of the infamous bayou I’ve heard so much about

might go in and not come out

trolley car back to bourbon the liquor will flow

another night of jazz under the stars and in the bars

all good things must come to an end and so it did 

on a blurry rain splattered evening in the Old Absinthe House

I don’t want to go home, but it will be nice to get there

traveling is fun, but it’s always relaxing to lay in your own messed up bed again

The Blonde at the Piano

snowy night starry bright but not too cold
we were all in the elegant parlor of the mayor’s home
snooty velvet looking curtains with furniture

that looked like it wasn’t meant to be sat on

but we did anyway

listening to an up and coming young pianist

dressed in red spaghetti strap dress 

flowing blonde curls falling on her creamy shoulders

she was a real beauty and she could play 

passionate enough to melt a polar glacier 

she was supposedly playing a piece by Rachmaninov 

I say supposedly because I like Rachmaninov 

and know a lot of music of Rachmaninov 

but I’d never heard of it; but it did sound Rachmaninovish

so I presumed that it was and I was not enlightened to it

the evening went on…I started thinking of us as a couple 

like there was any chance that could happen

me writing my poetry and her practicing her scales

and practicing and practicing and practicing 

I was wondering if we’d ever have any time to go

to the movies, restaurants, or take long walks on the beach

then I remembered dating an aspiring model 

‘dating’ would be an exaggeration 

she had to get plenty of sleep

didn’t want to be in the sun (I was fine with that)

carefully watched what she ate and when 

worked out-got plenty of exercise 

went to modeling jobs

which left little time for anything else really

but she did have a nice personality 

so I let her down easy (LOL)