SATCHMO
SIDE A -
the face handled
careful, black
wax grooves
going round
in an endless
endless grin—
King Louis
Armstrong
blowing like no
tomorrow.
Oooh hoo
I wanna be
like you-who—
Pops wipes his brow
with a kerchief
as if cleaning
a needle, a skipping
dusty LP.
An ape like me
would love to be
human too.
SIDE B
his bull
horn muffled,
sounding fog—labels spun
too fast
to read. Heebie
Jeebies. Is
you is or is
you ain’t—
Satchelmouth
Old Scratch, caught
between the devil
& the deep
blue sea—his Hot Fives
scat, out-play
Beezlebub on a good
day—two horns
twisted
up out his hair—
_______
