photo by Alex Lear
Epiphany
(something like how nia feels to me, xcept, this one is not really abt her)
god sent me / here / she said / & smiled / when we first met
glowing / & unblinking / she looked me / brown eye to brown eye / which wasn’t easy / seeing as how she was only five-three / maybe / sneaking up on five-four / one of them no make-up / womens / wearing a mixture of clothes / tie dyes / silks / colored cottons / whatever gave the impression / the vibe of red / yellow / gold / green / & a couple of blues / nobody has a name for yet
i wanted to say / well / god / must have been / mistaken / cause i ain’t sent for nobody
well, not really sent / it’s more like / i was called
oh shit / i thinks / to myself / she’s one of them / touched people
later / when she reads / some of her poems / honey nectar tart sweet aromas / explore the air / around us / fill my ears / & it is i / who am touched / by this woman
this woman / i’m with / this woman / i will always be with / no matter / what happens / whether we separate / or stay together / there are people / places / experiences / that become you / contribute to / making you be you / people you can never unfeel / un-be / leave behind / even when they are gone / they are there in your particulars / the rush of your breathing in the dead of sleep / the timbre of your sound / singing to yourself / speaking to another / they are there / anyone who has been truly intimate / remains / impressed inside
later i learn / how this woman / has a way / of appearing before me / with every vision i get / like, i wake / in the middle of the night / to play a dream tune / & she is already up / waiting for me / with the lyrics for our next song / fresh ink on soft paper / she knows where i’m going / before i get there
what i mean / is not simply / her physically being there / because sometimes her body / still be in bed / but her inspiration / in my head / be tongue licking my imagination / how else could i conceive / except impregnated / by some emotion seed / she dropped / into my soul / when i was busy / not consciously paying attention / to how she was subconsciously / moving me
so what / could i do / but submit / to the beauty / touch / spirit intellegience / of this hip / bundled laughter / looking up / at me / one soft autumn day / in the late years / of my life / ? / you dig?
& that’s how / i met / my second / wife
—kalamu ya salaam
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Music: “Misterioso” by Thelonious Monk
Kalamu ya Salaam – vocals
Stephan Richter – clarinet
Wolfi Schlick – reeds
Frank Bruckner – guitar
Mathis Mayer – cello
Georg Janker – bass
Michael Heilrath – bass
Roland HH Biswurm – drums
Recorded: June 14, 1998 – “ETA Theatre” Munich, Germany