improvisation
to better serve the nation
like lightning was he deposed
now all seems composed
~ forced smiles seize the duration
With no fuss,
no bother,
no prompting
the gracious,
generous giver gives,
in somber silence,
unnoticed,
a joyously
benevolent
improvisation,
in the silent way.
The pain of someone
discovering
who I am
leaves me
raw
But
Creep inside my mind
take a quick peek
at how we
are the
same
Because
Heart hidden mem’ries
of our last kiss
recall you
to my
mind
As
Sweet Pandora’s box
is waiting to
be opened
at your
touch
Because
With your artist’s soul,
you’ve engraved your
name on my
poet’s
heart
play
of the pulse
noisless
impatient
in a
dreamy
magical light
tones
of
muted thoughts
emerge
then
berthed
as
word pictured
poetry
I love you lady, singing velvet night sky,
singing azure violet wounded woolen stitch.
I love your lady quavering haunting cry,
intoning shades of purple in fevered pitch.
I love you lady, even trilling, scraping in torment,
your voice straining oppressed about strange fruit.
I love you lady dear star teaching your malcontent,
piping broken lyrics, imparting pain so acute.
I love you lady, you never knew a childhood,
you never rendered a cyan song the same way.
I love you lady, though you think my love no good,
it is you with whom I walk in the rain, preternatural every day.
Flame of Harlem, you gave so much to live. I listened, and I cried,
always my cherished one, so tragic how young you died.
H – Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas
I - IMPROVISATION
L – Little Drummer Bouy
A – Auld Lung Spine
R – Rocking Into the Christmas Tree
I - INVITES HILARITY
O – O Quizmas Twee
U – Up on the Horse Top
S – Silver Balls, Silver Bills
H – Have a Holly, Dolly Christmas
O – Opera of the Bulls
L - Let It Show, Let It Show
I - IRONIC SONGS
D – Dock the Hulls
A – An Old Smashioned Christmas
Y –You’re All I've Got for Christmas
December 12, 2020
a split acrostic
There are those who improvise within a structure,
with four beats to the bar like down home blues,
melodies and harmonies which stay within the fold,
embellishing the tune how e'er they choose.
Then there are cats who improvise to their own drummer,
inventing sheets of sound no ear has heard,
who bounce off one another, and break off from the norm,
Sun Ra's Arkestra, Sonny Stitt and Bird.
They wrote a new agenda, redistributing the forms,
inventing broader schemes of interplay,
as Jazz became a melting pot of signatures and styles,
through Ragtime, Big Band, Bop, until today.
America's indigenous art form,
born here, appreciated everywhere,
we are proud of all these marvelous musicians
who bring joy and recognition for us all to share.
********
...to Miles Davis in particular, R.I.P.
There are those who improvise within a structure,
with four beats to the bar like down home blues,
melodies and harmonies which stay within the fold,
embellishing the tune how e'er they choose.
Then there are cats who improvise to their own drummer,
inventing sheets of sound no ear has heard,
who bounce off one another, and break off from the norm,
Sun Ra's Arkestra, Sonny Stitt and Bird.
They wrote a new agenda, redistributing the forms,
inventing broader schemes of interplay,
as Jazz became a melting pot of signatures and styles,
through Ragtime, Big Band, Bop, until today.
America's indigenous art form,
born here, appreciated everywhere,
we are proud of all these marvelous musicians
who bring joy and recognition for us all to share.
********
...to Mr Miles Dewey Davis lll in particular, R.I.P.
your frightened sense is enough,
valor-wrapped
in braincell’s guts,
and this
because -
(two clicks watch)
one
man just went; and
I have drenched
your two dry sentries'
arteries
in a blood-shot tide.
precious rises
time and pressure
presses the vena cava;
will you split-run
at zero hours,
or lie alive,
(save one pump)
and bunk with
penitence?
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.