I Am Red


Alma Thomas — ”Red Abstraction” 1959, 40” x 27-3/4” oil on canvas

 
I am red
blood on a broke piano
in a dead — drunk-bar
squaller’d in shambles
sheddin’ no’mo tears

I am red
the dark cadence
movin’ through the streets
in sad slow progression
carryin’ the dead

I am red
on a mardi gras mornin’
I come’a roarin’on up
in a bourbon st. stumble
play’n all the night

I am red
a wild tchoupitoulas
from the 13th ward
blood shiffa-hoona
I won’t be barred

I am red
a walk through fire
a swim through mud
stole feathers from an eagle
n’drank a panther’s blood

I am red
a gallery of corpse tears
hung bold in deep memory
for those who survived
to feel the departed’s sorrrow

I am red
the rattle of glasses
on shelves back ‘o d’bar
when the band’s riffin’ hard
on a packed Friday night

I am red
the madman
sometimes d’sideman
in d’dark beautiful chaos
and joy’s tearful sky

I am red
the tambourine’s jangle
in a sweet delicate hand
in a hard poundin’ bar
on a stage reekin’ o’weed

I am red
the music and anguish
pour’n into m’soul
‘til I’m only the both
so to wring your pain dry

I am red
playin’ mournful taps
f’truth’s mortal wound
where it’s fallen
bleedin’ out

are ya’ blind
do ya’ see
are ya’ deaf
do ya’ hear
are ya’ numb
do ya’ feel

I am jazz
I am blues
I am life
I am a lone angel cryin’
in a requiem funeral dirge

deep deep red

— all that fuckin’ music
playin’ out loud
play’d for all us dyin’
in earth’s terminal purge


Original DDE™ surrealistic art entitled “Tears Of An Angel”
by: rob kistner © 7/16/24

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rob kistner © 2024

Poetry at: dVerse

 

20 thoughts on “I Am Red”

  1. Quite the bold statement, Rob. I like where you’ve taken us with your poem. I like the sound, rhythm and rhyme you’ve incorporate. Especially:
    “I am red
    a gallery of corpse tears
    hung bold in deep memory”

    “the madman
    sometimes d’sideman
    in d’dark beautiful chaos
    and joy’s tearful sky”

    “I am red
    the music and anguish
    pour’n into m’soul
    ‘til I’m only the both”

    And the power packed ending. A cry of despair or for redemption, only the artist knows.

    Reply

    1. Thank you Melissa. That abstract Alma painted just really lit a fuse in me. Ask for no secrets I’ll tell you no lies, life is a quandary ‘til finally one dies. :/

      Reply

  3. We all hear the music, but only a few of us hear it as clearly as you do, Bro.

    I’m hoping they’ll tote out to the tune of St. James Infirmary.

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    Reply

  6. I am red, such a strong, poem bold like the colour. I loved these lines:
    I am red
    a gallery of corpse tears
    hung bold in deep memory
    for those who survived
    to feel the departed’s sorrrow

    Reply

  7. You painted the town red with this ekphrastic poem, Rob, and I got the echoes of Tom Waits, especially in the lines:
    #I am red
    blood on a broke piano
    in a dead — drunk-bar
    squaller’d in shambles
    sheddin’ no’mo tears’.
    I found myself humming ‘The Heart of Saturday Night’ – and then I spotted the videos and played them! Your poem is drenched in blues, voodoo and Mardi Gras – very much a beat poem.

    Reply

    1. Thank you Sean. The top piece of art is the one by Alma that inspired the poem. The bottom artwork is an original that I created to accompany the spirit of the piece… 🙂

      Reply

  10. You really captured the heart and soul of Tom Waits here. I have all his music, and saw him in concert years ago. Fabulous, Rob!

    Reply

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