Two Poems by Erren Geraud Kelly

Carnegie Hall

     How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
     Practice, practice, practice!
                                  -- unknown

     Beauty is not caused.  It is.
                                  -- Emily Dickinson

Like Paganini, you came to swing.  You insist
the boys stay with the beat.  A slip of your hips
falls in line with a metronome.
As a child, you searched for home in the blues
heard Muddy Waters in a dog's growl.
It's interesting, how your hands speak jazz.
Lovingly, like the stars, twinkling in your eyes
trinkle, tinkle, you find home on the stage,
where the limelight blesses you.
Now, the journey begins, as you press the keys
                          Play home . . . play home . . . play . . . home.



Tea for Two

We sit quietly under a magnolia tree
Neither of us caring about the
Heat, it's so hot you can see
Ghosts, but it's really the old
Ways dying
You're as sweet as the sugarcubes
That quickly dissolve
In our china cups
Your hair is still fire
As red as ever
Still burning like a siren's
Call
The gold ankle bracelet sparkles
As you cross your legs
You don't have to sing
You just sit and I'll admire
You as one admires a work of
Art
The smile you gave me through red
Lips
Holds the promise of a new day
Like the cups we drink of rose hips
Tea
As my hands find your rose hips
As we drift timelessly
In the southern breeze

Erren Geraud Kelly is a Pushcart nominated poet from Portland, Oregon.  Erren has been writing for 25 years and has over 150 publications in print and online publications such as Hiram Poetry Review, Mudfish, Poetry Magazine (online), Ceremony, Cactus Heart, Similar Peaks, Gloom Cupboard, Poetry Salzburg, and other publications.  Erren's most recent publication was in The Rain Party and Disaster Society.  Erren has also published in anthologies such as Fertile Ground, and Beyond the Frontier.  Erren's work can also be seen on YouTube under the Gallery Cabaret link.