Today I’m thankful for swings
for those feelings of freedom and flying that it brings…
I think Duke Ellington understood
the wonders that they bring…
when he sang…
Life don’t mean a thing…
if it ain’t got that swing
Just listen to Satchmo,
Jams by Duke Ellington,
James Clay's moving tenor
John Coltrane's fine Post-Bop
Joyous uptempo tunes...
Jiggle hips like Jello!
Jump and jive, why don't cha?
Pleiades 2 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Joseph May
Date written: 10/15/2020
Note: "Satchmo" is the nickname of late, great Jazz legend, Louis Armstrong.
Kevin Solomon 9/9/2015
The Lion and the Crown
Cobalt blue goblet and the spangled gown
Black tie and high browns
Puttin on the Ritz
Flappers dancing the Charleston
Jazz by Count Basie and Duke Ellington
Crazy dance moves like the Black Bottom, the Shimmy and the Turkey Trot
And the Cake Walk
The Tango and the Bunny Hop
The Fox Trot and the Lindy Hop
Roaring cars filling the crowded streets
Zoot suits and reap pleats
Wide leg Oxford Bags and cuffed trousers
Waistcoats, suspenders, bow-ties and knickerbockers
Ladies wearing make-up, bobbed hair, short fringed skirts and drinking
Bright colored sweaters, patent-leather hair, feather head bands and smoking
The glitz of New York
Not the grime of Detroit
Superstars
Forgetting who their real friends are
Blinded by the glitter and gleam
Forgetting you are only a human being
Going where Harlem flits
No guts no grits
The fancy rich and famous showing their glitz
Forget about the misfits
And come on down to the Ritz
Written November 17, 2013
Fields of flowers
Rest around our heads
While photos of blood
Surround our beds
On pedestals we stand
Preaching to the world
Something foretold
By heretics in white
And neighbors in black
Who claim they already knew that
Rain beats down on my roof
To the tune of Duke Ellington
And to the Scat Man we dance
It's all we have left in this world
Penniless pockets
Play the vagabond game
While the vultures in Eden
Circle the insane
Who hear the angels sing
Refrains and quatrains
Who can be a spokesman
For those who cannot speak
A preacher for the downtrodden
A dollar dropped at hand
For the bum on Main and Port
Traveling through strife
No child or wife
To dedicate his life
No hope to beat his drum
No harp for strings he's strung
FAMOUS FATHERS
George Washington was the father of our country
James Brown the father of soul
Duke Ellington the father of jazz
Elvis of rock and roll
Each one of these men was famous
As history books will attest
But our Father who art in Heaven
Is the one we should know best
These other fathers, though famous
Have nothing but their reputation
But God, our Heavenly Father
Gave us the plan for our salvation
This was all made possible
By the death of His Son on the cross
He died for the sins of the world
So that none should have to be lost
But consider your earthly father
Remember all that he gave
Recall that he taught you of Jesus
Praying that you would be saved
So now through your Heavenly Father
Follow your earthly father's desire
Let the wonderful plan of salvation
Save you from the heat of hell's fire
Come and kneel at the altar
Let Jesus show you the way
This will honor your father
And you'll have a great Father's Day
Curtis Moorman
Father's Day 2004
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