Thursday, February 24, 2011

Nathan Elias

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(The following poem was first published by those fine people at Red Fez.)

Glass City Blues


The night begins on the river bottom
slow dragging with the ghost of Lily Mae Jones.
She lights a cigarette and calls for the sax
to play a tune that will bury the dead.

Its happy hour and the bitches brew
is on tap. Two rounds before we’re on stage
singing, But for me there can be no dawn
I thought I was in paradise.

Moonlight guides our feet as we
move to the sound of piano keys on fire,
the black cat trumpet, the ambulance
crescendo of Glass City blues.

We break the surface of air
like hard-boiled eggs then choke it down
with rose water. I am between the teeth
of stray dogs in a street fight and 

if this is another dream
I’ll count bullets and graves before I  
call her Betty in the pouring rain. It ain’t
what her mama named her.                                                 

1 comment:

Lorraine Cipriano said...

I love the line "piano keys on fire"-so gothic....