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Jazz Fantasia

Drum on your drums, batter on your banjoes,
sob on the long cool winding saxophones.
Go to it, O jazzmen.

Sling your knuckles on the bottoms of the happy
tin pans, let your trombones ooze, and go husha-
husha-hush with the slippery sand-paper.

Moan like an autumn wind high in the lonesome treetops,
moan soft like you wanted somebody terrible, cry like a
racing car slipping away from a motorcycle cop, bang-bang!
you jazzmen, bang altogether drums, traps, banjoes, horns,
tin cans — make two people fight on the top of a stairway
and scratch each other's eyes in a clinch tumbling down
the stairs.

Can the rough stuff . . . now a Mississippi steamboat pushes
up the night river with a hoo-hoo-hoo-oo . . . and the green
lanterns calling to the high soft stars . . . a red moon rides
on the humps of the low river hills . . . go to it, O jazzmen.

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Comments


  • September 9, 2007
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    From guest sexyem (contact)
    its amazing. it combines my love for jazz with my love for poetry. I especially liek the juxtaposition of the soothing sounds to the harsh strong ones. my favourite line is props "make two people fight on the top of a stairway and scratch each other's eyes in a clinch tumbling down the stairs." its just...beautiful. overall this poem just turns me on


  • May 25, 2007
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    heyy!!

    From guest kiana (contact)
    i luv this poem so much!!! it is one of my fav's!! im excited to use it in a poetry book i am making of my fav poems!!


  • May 17, 2007
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    coral reading

    From guest sarah (contact)
    we did this at our school on tuesday 15th may 2007 at allhallows school and 8s won


  • May 16, 2007
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    OH YEAH

    From guest Yur mom (contact)
    it is VERY VERY VERY interesting i LOVE this poem soooo much. i love how he usues onomotopia to describe the actions of everything.


  • November 19, 2006
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    hmm yes

    From guest Kevin Corbette (contact)
    i agree completely with you. this is a great poem and very different than all the others

  • Whatever45345
    September 17, 2006
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    Interesting

    Very unorthidox, but still interesting. It shocked me when I first read it.. It's just so very different. But most Jazz Lovers would bow to this tribute of the great genre.