American Jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk
I am jazz
I am blues
I am the 88 ivories
of beauty and sorrow
I play at the light’s edge
that pools in the night
in a joint on the bleak streets
of the sad brokenhearted
I play to the anguish
of the loveless who cower
in the dark nightmare alleys
of the lost and forgotten
I play to the grief
of the sinners who moan
alone in their heartbreak
in the ruins of love
I play to the horror
that encircles the planet
flogged raw by despair
in the shadow of plague
I play to the celebration
when the impossible falls
to the bold who succeeded
striving against odds & logic
I am the madman
sometimes the sideman
in the dark beautiful chaos
and in joy’s blue sky
I am jazz
I am blues
I am — that music
cool as a bone
playin’ it hot
hurtin’ alone
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rob kistner © 2022
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