AS THEY SAY, GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE - CHECK IT OUT!

 As I was posting Alan's recent poem about Miles Davis, he was writing to send me a new one, a love poem for us oldsters, not the first poem he has written to his lovely wife Jerra.  We girls should be so lucky to have men writing poems to us!  Alan just rocks!  My own hands aren't yet translucent, but I've seen it plenty often; however I do sport the brown age spots and consider them badges of honor of sorts, they remind me of the warm sun on my hands as I've had them curled around a steering wheel in those thousands of miles I've enjoyed driving over the decades, and the years of mowing my lawn on warm/hot sunny days, before I realized I really really needed to wear gloves!  More kudos to Alan!

THE  SKIN, ON  THE  BACK  OF  OUR  HANDS

           “A  Love Poem, For Older People.”  “Also, For Jerra,  For Over Twenty Years Together.”

 

 there is something you can tell

          about older people

 the skin on the top of their hands

          is almost translucent

 like you could read

          several messages in there

 you can almost

          see down into it

 the skin has grown

on our hands

 looking older

          with all the lines

 like the hands have shown

life’s wear

 over so much time

          and yes

 also sometimes

shown with so much pleasure

   for sure they have

          each grown much older

 and yet the aging brings closeness

          more tighter

 to both of us

made by us just so shared together

 Postscript:  Jerra once said, “We have both saved

the best of our lives: meeting, until our last years,

for the best lasting love.”  Alan "The Count" Yount

 Published by:  WestWard Quarterly, Spring Issue, 2021.

POETRY OF OUR TIMES

 I am home working at my desk today, gifted with some hours to do that by an appointment cancellation.  I have been remiss in posting on this blog, and especially some more works by my favorite poet Alan Yount.  I received an email from www.jerryjazzmusician.com that there was some news so I clicked and by golly there is a new poem from KHS65 Poet Laureate Alan.  I am NOT a poetry fan, my own attempts have either been pretty lame or just plain awful, and I don't enjoy reading it.  Having used a paperback edition of "How Does a Poem Mean" as a target on my dart board in my college days, I probably need say no more.  But Alan's actually hits home with me, and I love his Archie & Mehitable -like style!  [Crisis-I just looked for my copy of A & M and it's missing from the bookcase where I've kept it for years, another chore to do today, FIND IT!] Here is a new jazz-related poem I hope you will enjoy.  Thank you again Alan for always making KHS65 look so poetic!  If you don't know about Alan's life and career, read my prior posts or search here for his name, there are quite a few entries about him, his music and poetry. (I post this assuming you all know who Miles referred to here is...)

Miles’ Mouthpiece Pouch

miles attached the pouch
after the bend
where the trumpet bell started
widening out.

the pouch was close
to his lips and face.
maybe he also liked the smell
of new leather. I would have.

it’s good to have
a couple of
different mouthpieces
close at hand.

like if you
needed them
to play some notes
styling them, all so different.

having those extra mouthpieces
was to comfort you
just in case
to keep your sound

… just with so many
special notes
exactly in
your only miles style!

.Postscript: There is a great picture of Miles, holding his
trumpet, with the mouthpiece pouch. It is on the cover of
the book, Miles, The Autobiography. .

by Alan Yount

Check out this tribute on the Jerry Jazz Musician newsletter where this poem was recently published:  "Few artists inspire creativity like Miles Davis. This collection of poetry by 50 poets from all over the world is further evidence of that." 

Photograph of Miles Davis by Francis Wolff/courtesy Mosaic Images

  Read the Poetry Collection