Standing for hours in damp, chilly weather
in a long line in a dark alley was not
something I would have ever imagined doing.
Yet here I was, in New Orleans, doing just that.

The guard controlled the crowd, allowing only
a few in at a time. To Preservation Hall, that is.
Where the roots of jazz meet the modern world.

The cozy old building proved larger than life
when the music started. Smoke stung my eyes
as the short drink burned my throat, but I wouldn’t leave.
I swayed to the improvisation of commingled sounds,
brass and bass instruments juxtaposed in syncopated rhythm.
Edgy yet amazingly melodic, blended voices
of saxophones and a baritone sang along.

Closing my eyes, I imaged what it would have been like
to hear the greats, like Louis Armstrong or Duke Ellington, on stage.

Inspired by:
International Jazz Day (http://jazzday.com/2014/04/artists-from-across-the-globe-grace-the-stage-in-osaka-japan-for-international-jazz-day-2014/) and
Grand Junction Art and Musical Festival (http://www.coloradoartisttour.info/members/grandjunctionartandjazz.html)