On the Porch

A light breeze on a Monday evening

that sees the first fireflies

neighbor raccoons and rabbits

cross freshly mowed grass

that's mostly weeds of all kinds

as flashes from storms

to the northwest try to keep up

with Lester Young on saxophone

and those he played with

springing beats on the night

Buddy Rich on drums

Nat Cole on piano

even in the thirties

of the 20^th century

Oh, he was before my awareness

though his time extends into this era

because of all the recordings

with the greatest cats of forty years

in a blessing beyond the ability

of all religious texts to comfort

with these rolling lines of sax notes

that suspend the night

with applause that I want to join

only to change my mind since

it's past ten in the night

past times when

Billie Holiday and Lester Young

Prez and Lady Day

played in '57 on CBS

died within months of each other

her broken heart

they're rotting livers

when I was seven in '59

in my house not interested in jazz

with parents who probably

could not remember their names

I'm on a porch keeping them alive

Barry G. Wick