Edgar Cool's
Questing Beast

Howls of poetry + jazz - The Path Worth Taking

"JAZZ RIFF"

The mood is indigo
like a vanished light
turned off at a switch
Smoke comes from
a hot cat's horn
His life is a series
of cheap hotel rooms
and blowing gigs
He blows
the bleak corridors
with another chorus
of bop
He bites off the blues
chewing it some more
It's hip, the solos are staggering
Beat! Groove! Beat! Groove!
Piano now!
Answer now!
Horn now!
Answer now!
Bass now!
Answer now!
Drum hits!
Go! Go! Go! Go!
Give it! Give it!
Give it all!

"Ellen's Tune"

     Give her roses for each note she sings. When the blues are black, she brings melody to the night and jazz to the song. Promises remembered from the good times past, tonight she sings to the be-bop blast. From Ella and Billie, echoes from the heart, to Dizzy and Bird, each one plays their part. Brush kissed cymbals and walking bass, Ellen's tune keeping pace. She sings it scat, she sings it sweet, Ellen's tune, a jazzman's treat.

"BEAST IN THE DESERT"

In the white sand
 of the furthest desert
  the Beast sees
   a white cactus rose
    that leaves him shivering
     in the Sun
      He is caged
       No one gives him
        food or water
         He forgets the light
          Forgets to love
           That the unfelt is death
            He watches his breath
             His anger changes
              to tenderness
               The cage is empty

"HERMIT HOME"

A hermit watches the seasons
 Sees the tides change in the river
  Watches the moon phases
   Welcomes the creatures to his door
    His seclusion is broken as he sends
     a wood fire beacon to the migrating
      geese returning form the North
       He is Holy and speaks Gregorian
        he is the keeper of the wisdom
         hidden away in the twentith century
          Yeats and Keats sing in his heart
           The Beast is tamed

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