Roscoe Wright, "When a Jazz Band Plays" (1928)
on round dark foreheads.
And agile bodies sway, from side to side,
like trees cradled by a rhythmic wind.
Tom-toms thud ... thud ... thud.
I hear the soft gurgle of rippling waters;
the jubilation of the jungle moon, laughing
with the stars; and the howl of the jackal
in the tangled bush.
I hear the soft, pure music of angels,
and the loud quick cacophony of demons,
blended in concert all together.
Published in Saturday Evening Quill, June 1928