Welcome to poetryvlog.com
A weekly video reading of poetry by the poet.
The woman in the black beret
by David Amram
In Lowell where Jack's heart still beats
we gathered for some poems and eats
the joy we shared was worth the cost
Paradise was no longer Lost
Paradisio's Found and so were we
with music, song and poetry
I'd done this six hour jam before
the way Jack shared his open door
Young and old came to hear and see
the way it was and will always be
when joy meets spontaneity
all hearts connect and minds feel free
On that October afternoon
our trio played a brand new tune
I saw someone come thru the door
i knew i'd seen her face before
she wore a old-school black beret
but not in the Beat cliche way
rather like the French still do
like Dizzy did in '52
Bird and Dizzy both told me
that they knew someday they would be
appreciated in the way
that they finally are today
It all took years and sometimes tears
and they're not here to hear the cheers
but their music's here to stay
as classic as that black beret
worn in a natural 50's style
that made all cats and kitty's smile
when Bird and Diz and Monk were kings
with black berets and diamond rings
But Bird told me that Nows the time
to live without the Now's a crime
he said this back in '52
so someday I'd know what to do
said "here's a thought for you to share
the hippest thing's to be a square
my beret's what I love to wear
cause I love Paris when i'm there
i don't wear it any more
other cats who do don't know the score
they think that fashion's what makes art
our music just comes from our heart"
Bird's words came back to me again
as i slipped from Now to way back then
but realized that Now's still the time
to share what's precious and sublime
and see that in some special way
the presence of that black beret
was Now the voice of yesterday
saying I'm still with you here today
hours later just around seven
like a voice that came from heaven
the woman with the black beret
sang and blew our blues away
with perfect pitch and natural grace
she brought a smile to every face
we felt we were Now on a trip
as her voice sailed us on her ship
Now day was night I had to drive
three hundred miles to arrive
at my next port of call to play
some music on the very next day
i said goodbye to everyone
another festival was done
i packed my bags and paid the band
I hugged and shook my final hand
i went to say one last goodbye
to the woman who made our spirits high
I talked to her about her singing
and all the joy that she was bringing
how she made the precious past
alive and Now and built to last
and how her very special way
could help us all live for each day
inspiring us with her a special gift
to heal all lonely souls and lift
our spirits and bring all joy back
as we all honored Kerouac
there was no more that i could say
we'd said it when we played that day
I watched her as she drove away
on dusky Lowell streets now grey
laying there before my feet
on that rainy old-bricked Palmer street
resting there as if to say
take me, i'm your black beret
Now I'm on the road again
i really don't know where or when
I'll give her back that black beret
which she wore in that special way
she wrote me said just keep it warm
and wear it if you're in a storm
put it on a hook or on a shelf
til I wear it once again myself.
I told my son when I got back
the way she sang for Kerouac
how when she drove away I found
her black beret there on the ground.
next year In Lowell where Jack's heart still beats
I'll bring my son for poems and eats
he'll meet and hear the final day
the woman in the black beret.
Copyright David Amram
"Nine Lives of a Musical CAt" Paradigm Press 2007