Sweet Sovereign Fleurs de Mal

Poet and visual artist Ed Schelb returns with a new poem "Sweet Sovereign Fleurs de Mal," which, as he points out, "is about the weird intersection of teaching and jazz."  Both involve improvisation within a set structure. On the other hand, clerical work reminds me more of classical music where one has to follow the notes, the composer's intention, and the conductor.  I am sure that I am oversimplifying classical music, though, but my impression of that genre is based on what a musical friend of mine told me when we were arguing about Shakespeare.

The images in this entry are all by Ed. My husband just remarked on how striking they are.  Enjoy! 

Sweet Sovereign Fleurs de Mal

play Baudelaire backwards
on your hi-fi and you hear

Pastor Edwards

gravitating towards cool jazz

icy androgynous sweetness

to his voice like Chet Baker

or Tiresias and then unwound

into some perilous improv

melody burnt up like

an Apollo capsule swallowing

its long chute you know

his band would’ve split

his tyrannical arrangements

a form of penance

each solo bound to the next

with a mad logic sweet inward

sense of things lightning mutilated

rapture crackle like Django

Reinhardt’s gypsy fingers

felix culpa in a nutshell bombshell

electron shell jumpin’ its orbit

its habitual groove

and I scramble for a Chet Baker

tape but the cover’s empty

so what if I lecture on the Great

Awakening by blasting

“My Funny Valentine” knowing

time won’t evaporate

as long as you blow

sweet sweet sweet sovereignty

steady on the hi-hat now

Do you recognize Chet Baker above?  He was so handsome and haunted, even into the 1970s.

I am including links to a few of his songs.  Late in life he covered Elvis Costello's "Kind of Blue."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SGAcP7Zh6U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGx67-CttaA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4PKzz81m5c

Costello has also covered "My Funny Valentine."  But is he a jazzman?  (He is younger than Ron Carter though!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DL0M9P1TXk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zju3lT02PiE

Ed also mentions jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt in his poem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpmOTGungnA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS2ylPAUxzA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QATIHWbN-sM

Ed Schelb has more graphic work at this site.  I encourage you to explore it.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/124865990@N06/sets/72157645321953464/

You may also enjoy Changming Yuan's poems from last week:
http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/07/musicand-other-poems-by-changming-yuan.html
http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/07/jazz-on-animal-farmand-other-poems.html

For other poems from the contest, see the link to Dr. Michael Ingram's "Billie in the Morning":
http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/07/billie-in-morning.html

If you would like to contribute to the contest, this entry has more information for you:
http://thesongis.blogspot.com/2014/06/lively-up-blog.html

If you are also a visual artist or have performed your poem live, I urge you to submit your work as well.  The Song Is...is more than just text!