Brazil

 

in semidarkness
the flute man
plays his song

the neck
curls around the stiff female
her ear, impeding a grand gesture

music inhabits the space
the tongue
enters a hollow tunnel

surprising, in its raspy wetness
breaths echo,
over and over in that passage

her eyes pop open
signals sent through the spine
as eyelids flutter

beats grow louder
breaths, mimic in unison
thrashing through air

where I can feed
my babies
substance

the mouthpiece
provides
short, cutting, notes

that exhale from the instrument.
lights flicker
red, yellow, neon blue

smoke signals
primitive symbols providing atmosphere
flats, sharps, moans, lower now

wolf growls
from the beginning of time
lights change

the tongue
finds its original position
the strained female

now, non-existent
the moans, music made
a memory in the mind’s eye

This poem is from the book The Red Haze of the Sun, available on Amazon.