Today's Blue

Blue notes drip hotly to the ground
as the room clouds with smoke, whisking away the long day's cares.
Those drawn into the bar
listen intently to the trumpeter, his round
mellow tone cutting through. He's
been there too, his face shows it.
busying by too fast to
catch a glimpse of life, of stillness.
As this nocturne for today
comes to a quiet sorrowful halt, applause,
lifted for the man's troubles,
echoes about the small place. Now hush
returns as a new voice
gently cuts through the southern midnight heat.
Her soulful cry attempts to
soften the harshness of their lives. All
entranced, her words of sympathy
easing through to their souls. As she
ends and the lights dim
the crowd moves on, off to home
to sleep until tomorrow wakes.

          BJ OTT