Original Poetry...

Night Song (for Wilber Morris)

At night, your bass sleeps,
Weeping long tones.
The wind, heavy with your sound-
a prayer for the unloved and broken,
Floods the night

Once, you had said, "No composition could ever
Be played the same way twice,"
And your face became the moon and your
Hands were dripping molten stars

The wind heaves, thick with your sound,
Sweeping prayers, petals and tears over the land

Once, you had laid down your bass and attacked
It with two bows
And a thousand birds flew out

Now, your bass sleeps,
Weeping long tones.
And the wind heaves, thick with your sound,
Sweeping prayers, petals and tears over the land

Once, you had raged at me for not listening,
And I had cried later, and promised to listen.
And then, two years later, in your unexpected
Forgiving embrace, I felt the embrace of
an infinite ocean

At night, your bass sleeps,
Weeping long tones,
And the wind heaves, thick with your sound,
Seeping into my night song

Ravish Momin © 2002 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED