lady sings the blues

scrawled 12.28.2008 by miss.abi | E-mail this post

Lady swayed on stage
long fingers cradling mic
as if it were
her lovers face
whispering mournful melodies
that filled the place
with the weight of her sadness

Patrons watched through whiskey glasses
twice filled and cocked back
to soften the sounds of her blows
as the
sloooooow mooooooan of the
saxophone
stirred up stories
from deep within the bowels
of their souls.

Lady sang the blues
in a white dress bathed in darkness
fillin’ up her emptiness
with whole notes
to tell the whole world
she ain’t gon’ die ‘cuz she loved him*

badooom boom bip

drumsticks slip and flip her
rhythm backwards, transfixed by
memories of how his melodies
used to hang soft ‘round her hips

but the brass played on
fief being paid with passions
echoes of crescendos
rising from
deep within her belly
spillin songs from lips
of sex, success, upsets
regrets, faults, and failures

she became music
held prisoner, and he was the jailor
her beauty,
chained by his madness
blastin’ like a horn
but now
the brass wings
and its winds
are liftin' her

feet dancing out the rhythm
Bags on the drums, strugglin
to keep up
Slim slidin fingers over strings and
Wese on keys
pluckin, pullin and pushin her
tears streaming down cheeks
erupting in ablution

Lady becomes reborn as song
blue notes turned red like fire
burning herself up to rebirth
a new soul from her ashes
while the crowd watches
bathed in sweat from the
heat her heart is hurlin’
beatin out the syncopations
of her
purification ritual

Singin’ like this song
On this night
Iz just the beginning.

response to a piece written by a friend called Jimmy's Blues
italicized lines are from the inspiration piece by tre
*loosely from 'lady sings the blues' by billie holiday