5/16/06

The Voices Around Me

For Joe Poka

In the long journey from floor to floor

The voices around me give me wings

Sonatas soar through the night sky and

Arias provide accompaniment to the stars

Different worlds come alive in my ears

I believe every word they sing

As they breathe dreams into my life

Have you ever swam with words,

Words that fly like doves into the nostalgic sky?

I have done so, and I have seen the masters of our time

Sing so passionately one can see love dripping from the words

Like candle wax heated with their sighs

Or sing so painfully one can see knives greased with their tears

A singer is no mere actor;

He is beast who preys on ears with words instead of teeth

A singer is no mere lover;

He is a warrior whose spear of words emits sighs as it plunges into hearts

A singer is no mere poet;

He is a king who rules the soul with a word-encrusted scepter

A singer is no mere singer;

He is the mirror of light and darkness that we look into every time he opens his sultry mouth