Shanibird

her goddess gut laugh

cleared the air

better defining the art being discussed,

Peter’s dots hurled up against the wall

Jon’s masking taped stripes

abstractexpressionist colors

exploding into Eric Satie chords,

and all those painters

would gather around Shanibird-

kids waiting for ice cream

and yes, even the poets and potters

checked out the bop

from her piano

tuned to flatted fifths:

“Feldman! Must you guys always listen to Dylan and the Dead!?”

wow! we cleared our heads

considering the voice…

Nancy was right!

there really was jazz to be considered

splendid cosmic candles all around us…

why hang onto borders?

last night on the phone

Carmen said “it’s just like we were all kids together”,

and once upon a time in Bisbee,

the merriest pranksters,

faces painted

paraded down Brewery Gulch

celebrating April fools

reading equal-house astrology charts

debating Henry Miller, Dante, and Gurdjieff,

whatever blew into her open window

wherever we all landed…

Shani served us all the tea

now, her music drifts in from some other window

where she is sure of,

and we must trust her voice

we always have-

why not this time?

when here in this theatre, right now,

she has lowered the curtain

left us here,

all of us here…

this Sister would want us to move on

to create our next possibility…

brief candles that we all are!

Delray Beach, FL

December 16, 2012

Audio