Linda M. Preston
Saxophonist
October, late afternoon, sombre skies
bring street lights on.
And there he is - a forlorn figure outside his home
playing a lonely tune on his saxophone,
oblivious to cold rain soaking his narrow frame
and running like tears down his carved cheeks.
I know of him. Who doesn’t?
We shake our heads and ask why
do they let him live that way?
Wandering the street at all hours
deep in dialogue with demons on the moon,
his front door flung open wide
inviting in the uninvited.
“He needs help,” we tittle-tattle “Poor sod.”
As I pass the mournful music dies away —
into encroaching night,
and his penetrating stare meets mine.
I can’t escape it
or hold it.
So I bury it - deep.
It’s as if he knows me.
Perhaps he does.
Time hangs suspended.
There is no sound
and silence rises,
becoming too loud to bear.
Slowly, his stony eyes stop looking,
and turn inwards -
again.
Page(s) 136
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