
“Scott Joplin” by Sidney Holmes
ragged rhythms
strode boldly
turned the
century corner
where wine
colored light
played on ivory
keyboards
bordello pianos
gave stagger
to swaggering
sounds of an
ushering era
a time bridge
for music to
pass from its
martial born
meters through
missed beats
the drop stitch
of rag where
it danced for
brief stutter step
moments till
it tripped and fell
headlong smack
into the jazz age
From my books Ephemera and Legacies (vol. 2)
Love “wine colored lights played on ivory keyboards”–stellar. And “stutter step” reminds me of a poem I wrote/posted back in 2011 (I think)…it was my first blog.
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I appreciate that very much
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Pingback: Ragtime — Poesy plus Polemics | davidbruceblog #2
thank you for sharing my poem with your readers
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“the drop stitch
of rag”
“tripped and fell
headlong smack
into the jazz age”
Great lines, Paul. And so true.
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many thanks, johnny
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Well done! It seems like every generation wants to create or recreate their own style. Sad for us old guys!!
Dwight
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glad you enjoyed it, dwight
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Wow. I love this.
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much appreciated
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Another history lesson, with the ‘added’ flavour all students need to both learn and remember.
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so much to learn – so little interest
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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thank you for sharing my poem with your readers
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superb poem, Paul.
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thank you most sincerely, francina
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Very nice, Paul.
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thank you very much, eugenia
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Love this.
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thanks kindly
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I love the clever way you use right-justified text to complement the meaning.
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glad you enjoyed it
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I love learning about the family tree of music. Your words capture these eras gorgeously.
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as a one time musician, I had reason to explore those histories
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You have led a positively checkered past.
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*smile*
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A splendid personification of music!
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many thanks
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Really enjoyed this one, Paul! Well played!
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much appreciated, doc
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Beautifully ‘played’, Paul!
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many thanks, don
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