Chanteuse
Awash in the dim light of fading red candles,
I sat ‘round the rickety table,
Dizzy from the thick aroma of stale whiskey
Caked on the walls of the dingy speakeasy.
“Bum-buh-Bum-Bum” thumped from a towering upright
bass
To the percussive “CRASH-BOOM-BOOM-CRASH-CRASH,”
Accompanying the jangling ebony and ivory “Chunk-a-Chunk”
That shook the audience from their shimmying stools.
But I only had ears for her… the chanteuse.
Her soulfully raspy voice, full of enchanted
possibilities,
Electrified the midnight hour;
Delicately vulnerable… powerfully commanding.
I listened raptly… in love from the very first note.
Her trembling timbre rocked me;
Her quavering moans of passionate longing
Sent shivers through my hungrily stirring soul.
Our eyes met for an infinitesimal heartbeat
And I dreamt a little dream;
We both were alone in that smoky club
And she sung her serenades just for me.
