Mingus
I’ve got spirits
warming the insides of my belly
when Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting
from Blues & Roots comes
coursing through my car stereo,
flooding me, consuming me like a brushfire.
It is half-past midnight
& the dark atmosphere of the late night
is still working her magic
when Bob Parlocha puts the record on
& Mingus’ band is made flesh again through sound.
He puts the record on
& Mingus’ heart is swing-dancing behind his breast.
Puts the record on & Mingus is back
with a pipe dangling from his lips,
with music & madness
sprinting through his wide body like thunder,
boisterous & deep.
In my mind I see him,
with a smile stretched on his face,
picking strings,
talking shit,
making the heavy voice of his instrument sway & bend,
& moving his left hand into
a brown haze on the long fingerboard.
My head is swollen
with the sound of that double bass
spitting out notes to me in the darkness.
It is as if I am possessed
by Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus,
the alchemist, with all his fury
& roundness & passion
digging back through the afterlife.
I am engulfed by the melody & rhythm
of Mingus, breaking himself open
to express his ephemeral truth.
Searching. Reaching. Scraping.
Mingus, who once prayed
that if there was a God
perched up above or here among us,
that He or She would bestow music upon his children.
That it would kiss their faces & wash over them
like the breeze of early spring.
That they would know how it felt
to have beauty live in their ears
& cast light in the wells of their souls.
Maybe it’s the spirits
glowing in the cavern of my stomach,
but I know that after the song has finished,
has breathed its final chord for the night,
I can cast my eyes to the sky
& find him with that broad smile
leaning off the very face of the moon.
I’ve got spirits
warming the insides of my belly
when Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting
from Blues & Roots comes
coursing through my car stereo,
flooding me, consuming me like a brushfire.
It is half-past midnight
& the dark atmosphere of the late night
is still working her magic
when Bob Parlocha puts the record on
& Mingus’ band is made flesh again through sound.
He puts the record on
& Mingus’ heart is swing-dancing behind his breast.
Puts the record on & Mingus is back
with a pipe dangling from his lips,
with music & madness
sprinting through his wide body like thunder,
boisterous & deep.
In my mind I see him,
with a smile stretched on his face,
picking strings,
talking shit,
making the heavy voice of his instrument sway & bend,
& moving his left hand into
a brown haze on the long fingerboard.
My head is swollen
with the sound of that double bass
spitting out notes to me in the darkness.
It is as if I am possessed
by Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus,
the alchemist, with all his fury
& roundness & passion
digging back through the afterlife.
I am engulfed by the melody & rhythm
of Mingus, breaking himself open
to express his ephemeral truth.
Searching. Reaching. Scraping.
Mingus, who once prayed
that if there was a God
perched up above or here among us,
that He or She would bestow music upon his children.
That it would kiss their faces & wash over them
like the breeze of early spring.
That they would know how it felt
to have beauty live in their ears
& cast light in the wells of their souls.
Maybe it’s the spirits
glowing in the cavern of my stomach,
but I know that after the song has finished,
has breathed its final chord for the night,
I can cast my eyes to the sky
& find him with that broad smile
leaning off the very face of the moon.
Christian J. Collier is a 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow. This program is made possible by a major grant from the Surdna Foundation and by the generous support of Loft members.
He is an accomplished artist, public speaker, and educator who has shared the stage with several members of HBO’s Def Poetry cast, legendary poet and activist Ishmael Reed, Grammy-nominated artist Minton Sparks, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members The Impressions, etc. Mr. Collier has also given a TED Talk and repeatedly been featured on the IndieFeed Performance Poetry Channel, which prides itself on featuring the best spoken word artists working today. Some of his works have been featured on The Guardian, and published in such publications as The Seven Hills Review, Dirty Chai, Voicemail Poems, Calliope Magazine, and The Origami Poetry Project to name a few, and his 2009 chapbook Ghosts & Echoes has sold hundreds of copies independently solely off the strength of readings and live performances.
In October of 2013, he released his debut EP Between Beauty & Bedlam, which he wrote and produced himself. The record fuses spoken word poetry and an eclectic mix of musical genres including Hip-Hop and ambient to make a sonic gumbo. It is available now at CD Baby, Bandcamp, at live performances, and from Christian’s website (christianjcollier.com).
He is an accomplished artist, public speaker, and educator who has shared the stage with several members of HBO’s Def Poetry cast, legendary poet and activist Ishmael Reed, Grammy-nominated artist Minton Sparks, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members The Impressions, etc. Mr. Collier has also given a TED Talk and repeatedly been featured on the IndieFeed Performance Poetry Channel, which prides itself on featuring the best spoken word artists working today. Some of his works have been featured on The Guardian, and published in such publications as The Seven Hills Review, Dirty Chai, Voicemail Poems, Calliope Magazine, and The Origami Poetry Project to name a few, and his 2009 chapbook Ghosts & Echoes has sold hundreds of copies independently solely off the strength of readings and live performances.
In October of 2013, he released his debut EP Between Beauty & Bedlam, which he wrote and produced himself. The record fuses spoken word poetry and an eclectic mix of musical genres including Hip-Hop and ambient to make a sonic gumbo. It is available now at CD Baby, Bandcamp, at live performances, and from Christian’s website (christianjcollier.com).