For Ben Webster
By Reuben Jackson
where do his eyes go
when he plays ballads?
higher than smoke
fogging the room,
cymbals which rustle god’s earlobes
like kisses.
a friend swears there is a
skylight in his hat
where notes gather
before plunging toward the bell
of his tenor,
while ben gazes longingly
up the skirts of stars.
Copyright Credit: Reuben Jackson, “For Ben Webster” from Beltway magazine. Copyright © 2002 by Reuben Jackson. Reprinted by permission of the author.
Source: Beltway magazine (2002)