Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
Charles Ritenour Apr 2010
The television announcer sprays
rapid-fire syllables
with voice booming sells
the unneeded  to the unsuspecting
while wearing a smile
which surely would break
an honest face.
So if you want to know upfront,
Then, you should know
That a reasoned selection process was used,
The music was cherry-picked,
Three perfect compact discs,
Hanging there from the branch,
(Actually CD stack storage)
And me, with a sativa buzz,
Working nicely, grazie mille.
I sit down to write another one of my “fakakta” poems.
The music?
Three crystal gems
Liquid pearls, all of great price.
To wit: (1) “The Best of Joe Cocker,”
(Joe died last year, and
Don’t we/Shouldn’t we
Consider him a close associate,
A kid we grew up with?)
(2) “A Twist of Marley,”
A “Verve Music” product,
Brilliant conception!
Montego Bay gone South Chicago,
A sweet instrumental miscegenation--
A potent, wicked fusion of reggae & jazz--
Manifested by Dave Grusin,
Gerald Albright, Lee Ritenour, & Others.
And last, but not even close to being least,
(3) “MILES DAVIS Kind of Blue.”
Lest we forget Norman Jewison’s
Homage to Mambo Brooklyn Italiano
Cher & her wacky greaseball family:
The Castorinis.
The Cammareri.
The Cappomaggios.
Did I hear someone say “*** Stereotype?”
Bam! A double “Moonstruck” slap,
Just to remind you:
“I’m talkin’ here.”

Lest we forget:
Coltrane blew tenor sax
Both March & April 1959 sessions,
Columbia 30th Street Studio,
New York City.
And if you've heard
"Freddie Freeloader," a
Sizzler solid 9 minutes & 49 seconds,
I think it’s probably a good time
To go check to see if you
Left the garden hose on.
BAM!
Now do I have your attention?

We pensive Boomers--
We take stock.
We ponder the clock, a
Vexatious tick-tock
Arctic soundtrack,
Music in the key of winter of
Our discontent/content.
YOU MUST CHOOSE ONE!
Time to script your buggering off,
Time to settle in
On an exit strategy.
“Yes, hurry up, it's time.” screams T.S. Eliot,
From an English major’s
Vast wasteland archive.
The scoreboard reads 4th Quarter now.
We ruminant Boomers,
Facing up to it at last, are we?
To be or not: a serene letting go, or
“Rage against the dying of the light?”
Dylan chimes in:
Thomas, meet Thomas.
Oprah, Uma.

So you should know upfront,
I got a great buzz on.
The music is groovy.
This poem ends here.
Sally A Bayan Aug 2023
Amongst silhouettes on the front yard,
weary mind, fatigued limbs relax,
Lee Ritenour sings "Dreamwalkin,"
no lyrics spoken, just soft humming,
while thinking of summers and
monsoon seasons gone by.
nineteen once...slid to seventies,
smooth, glossy skin have creased,
deeply furrowed, plump with stories,
yet...long taut muscles are now lithe,
softened by missteps and slides,
each day's unexpected rhythms
were reasons to waltz, boogie,
or swing...to balance the stance,
to sway, with grace
to avoid a fall.

A fragrant and pleasant sunset
greets tonight...a sweet refuge,
dimming skies, a comfortable seat,
a glass of pre dinner wine,
as the mind does the samba,
a nasal hum while cd plays
Astrud Gilberto's “So Nice," while
appreciating life's ups and downs,
ahhh...what a graceful dusk!


sally b

© Rosalia Rosario A. Bayan
August 11, 2023

— The End —