Poetry and jazz

When my friend Sandra offered poetry classes, I was eager to join because:
a) She’s a wonderful poet,
b) I’ve been enamored with poetry since high school
and c) I knew it would be good for me.

Let me linger on the latter for a moment. I like writing poetry even though I don’t think I’m particularly great at it, but I still enjoy pretending. I guess I’m not one of those people that has to be the amazing at something in order to do it.

Sandra introduced to us a variety of poems and prompts. One of the in-class exercises was to write a poem to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue.

While jazz is completely fitting here in Chiang Mai because it is the King of Thailand’s favorite kind of music, this is where it led me…

American landscape
Crusin’ along
Interstate 5
Interstate 40
What happened to your dreams?
Your green thumb?
Your industrial evolution?

American landscape
Wanders through my soul
Like a cigarette
Trees tall, wide, manicured
Shrubbery
Blowing trash
Pristine emptiness
Gas, food, lodging
What happened to your Native Americans?
What happened to your neighbors?
What happened to walking?

Serpentine roads through the country’s back doors
Blooming weedy flowers and drugs
Who lives here, I wonder?
Who lives there, I see.
Coyote, cats, rabbits and dogs
Great big hawk in sky,

Road trip.

Mountains like mercury rising
Gorgeous high desert
Landscapes
Dry dry dry breeze
Music, miles
Davis
Makes us feel like
Hip cool cats with our
Arms out the windows
Car lighter still works
Thank god
As I drop it on the floor
Song change, cigarette break,
Bathroom pit stop
Truck drivers’ jeans
Make me feel young
Again free
I am American.

But I don’t belong here.
Who gave him that haircut?
He likes it, I see.

Wendy’s Taco Bell McDonalds
Burger King Krystals hills
Create a moody carpet ride
American landscape
You are always on my inside,
It’s my turn to drive.