Mr. Lopez and Mr. Ayers

I flip the history of Bojangles
On a cool Sunday evening
Los Angeles coming down
A flow of oboes breathing
Through the lung of the street
The hobo not stopping for air
Fingers moving in a dance
Across the strings of consciousness
Milking the music of his brain
Onto a breast 
Of dilated ears.

Mr. Lopez, unsettled from his comfortable chair
Searching for something to tell
Against the neon of despair
Heard the dulcimer quelling hell
And saw himself standing bare
To the sheetless eyes
Of a man serenading Beethoven
Deaf as a statue
In the city's superfluous air.
Here is where humanity
Sings hope amidst the garden
Of hopelessness
That make direlict dreams
Tugging our divinity
Down to rags of nothingness.

Mr. Ayers, a quaver away
Juliard school in love aspiring
Suddenly there fallen
Amidst the glitter and glamor
Of non-existence
Peace, a basoon
Seducing a Los Angeles moon
Coy as a lover
In the tangle of wine memory
He plays against
The unkown sorrow of the world.
And here dedication
Drives us to distraction
Soon or late
Decomposing our minds
Into shards of glistening memories.

Discovery, today beholding yesterday
A bride for the first time
Amidst the silence of flowers
Cradling weeds and seeds of tomorrow.
Love without purpose 
Can change the course
Of splintering history.
He plays, harmony
In where the traffic blares
Yellow light onto his gray matter
Splitting airs with sharp sounds
They echo
Not the common pit, nor
To a single Maestro blending
The mind's kaleidoscope
Before the other's saner wit
Along highways and wind tunnels
He brings to a sombre note
To ode all joys
Strugling repressed under
Human ambition 
Ayers is my minstrel
Jarred by a nerve
Not wired for sleep.

Fortune smiles
From the frontier of friendhsips
Fondled by the music
Of love unfranchised
Awakes the lyre
To sing in the resurrection of desire.
Friendship is a sheltering tree
From life's base tragedies.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2009



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Date: 3/24/2009 8:20:00 AM
Wow, this is brilliant, Shango! Those last two lines hit a home run. Love, Carolyn
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Date: 3/23/2009 8:41:00 AM
An excellent vignette,great pharasing too L'nass.Rgds Brian & thanks for your welcome comments
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Date: 3/23/2009 8:34:00 AM
You made me so curious with this one, I left for a few moments, downloaded the 60 minutes piece on You Tube....and I am so moved by what I witnessed, and how well you captured this wonderful, yet sad story in your two poems. You are truly gifted in writing...and such an amazing inspiring friendship to write about. Thank you for sharing this.... love, Carrie
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Date: 3/23/2009 7:25:00 AM
amazing understanding and compassion for human frailty, a remarkable piece! Jim
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Date: 3/23/2009 6:18:00 AM
I am going to write a piece about mr. Ayers....I saw it on sixty minutes last night and was totally inspired by him..I will write my piece soon..great writing from The Shango.
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