Dawn Jazz
Landlord of Clocks
tick-tocks through my dreams,
raining salt on an
untamed parade of roses
that claw and scrabble
towards respite moon.
Oh, Lord!
I grow weary of the climb;
my midnight skin bleeds.
Oh, their thorns!
yet their faces carry me on,
glowing red each dawn.
This poem is dedicated both to Mr. Langston Hughes and to Mr. Barry Harris, a jazz pianist I love who passed on this past December 8.
Shay is the host of Shay’s Word Garden. Shay says:
What we do here is to include at least three of the twenty listed words in an original poem of any length or style. Please link back to this post, sign the linky so we can read what you’ve created, and remember to visit others cos we all love knowing that others are reading what we write. And, as always, have fun!
argument
blood
clocks
coffee
dreams
faces
factory
heart
jazz
landlord
moon
parade
personal
raining
remember
rose
salt
sandwich
taste
weary
Tao Talk 
so far I have been really enjoying this new prompt~
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As have I! I didn’t see your poem at Mr. Linky.
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I have only done one so far and I’m trying to write one now for this latest one
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I have loved Hughes for years, but I never knew Barry Harris before. You keep hipping me to good music! Not to ignore your lovely poem, though. There seems a definite hint of Hughes to it, without copying him at all–that is very cool.
Btw, I am not sure that,as blog owner, you see it, but they stuck an ad smack in between your final two stanzas–very disruptive. I had to start over reading. There is another ad between the prompt instructions and the word list, and a third ad at the end of the post, before the “likes”. But it’s the one in the middle of the poem that bugs me. I have never seen them do that before, ever.
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Shay, I was blessed to see Barry Harris and his Trio live in Chicago in a small jazz club many moons ago and have been a fan of his ever since. Thank you for the nice comment and thank you especially for the feedback on where they are slapping those aggravating ads! When I agreed to take on ads, I chose to have them show up only after the content. Sounds like they’ve chosen not to honor that. Wow! I did see one between the word list and the rest of the content but not the other ones.
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A wonderful and poignant use of the word list Lisa! I really enjoyed this!
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Thank you very much, Carrie.
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This really has the feeling of a Hughes poem. (K)
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Excellent poem Li. Very evocative.
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Thank you, Sadje!
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You’re welcome
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The this refracts with each reading is gorgeous.
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Wyndolynne, thank you. Glad you connect with it.
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There’s a feeling here of burdens turned to use, of a deep appreciation for the privilege of being alive and a need to share it that I think is very characteristic of Hughes, and the heirs of the Harlem Renaissance. It’s not a sugar-coating, because they never ignore reality, but it’s a flavor they add to make us see what we so easily trample. Anyway, that’s what your poem said to me.Loved it.
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Joy, you gleaned my message and describe it so well. Thank you!
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“my midnight skin bleeds” love that line, that really speaks to me. lots of great sound in this poem, the last 2 stanzas especially. enjoyed very much
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Thank you, Phillip, glad you connected with it.
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Beautiful, moving, creative writing. Loved it!
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Susie thank you glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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