Hooked, harnessed and held I listen.
Not knowing how to sing It is the sound of a stately trumpet somewhere speaking in the ray Twilight and solitude Realization and acknowledgment somehow rising above the fray.
An errant messenger noble, vast and true A bluebird at the edge of cold air Pomp and frippery Royal blood A wonderful circumstance In the moment Yes High above the clouds While many people may be familiar with Miles Davis, the musician who served as the inspiration for my poem, fewer people may know about Jazz Poetry.
Jazz Poetry was first introduced to specific members of the American community during the early 1920's.
It's development coincided with a growing interest in Jazz, and more specifically Jazz culture, as it included a highly unique form of rhythm, melody and style that included an exceptional phraseology that was unfamiliar to vast segments of American society.
As a means to remedy this problem, Vachel Lindsay and Mina Loy were two writers who attempted to capture the essnce of this burgeoning cultural phenomenon.
They attempted to convey some of the special characteristics of Jazz culture that had had a significant impact upon American artists, poets and free thinkers of various types during the second decade of the 20th century.
In retrospect however, it is certainly true that other artists had a greater feel and affinity for the music.
They were able to write in a style that reflected the freedom of improvisation that was the cornerstone from which American Jazz had sprung.
In essence, they were able to capture the feeling, mood and rhythm of the work.
These artists included Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar.
In effect, both Hughes and Dunbar expanded the spiritual realm of the English language as they wrote in a form that replicated the words of the musicians who were creating this wonderful form of music.
A fine example of Jazz Poetry is Langston Hughes' "I Too, Sing America".
It is a jazzed up reference to Walt Whitman's illustrious poem, " I Hear America Singing".