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On my last night in Vienna
It was two, no maybe three
I was admiring the shadows in the Tiergarten
Or maybe they were admiring me
My sax was now gently sleeping
In her plush black velvet box
That jet-setting vampire and me
Had been around quite a few cosmic blocks
She was a dream I carried everywhere
And nightly drank my blood
But together we played the Night Time Blues
And forgot all that other crud
I sat down on a deserted bench
And pulled out my cigarettes
The scratch of the match softly echoed
Burning bright as my wordless regrets
As though sprung from the cages
There appeared a strange new friend
Another lonely spirit
Mourning the Night's tragic end
She wore a short black leather skirt
And black stiletto heels
Black pixie hair combed forward
And Danube eyes, blue as tempered steel
I offered her a cigarette
And expertly struck a match
She was a beautiful feline hunter
But I didn't feel like much of a catch
Through lips as red as poppies
She blew smoke rings, Briefly dancing then no more
Like chance meetings in the night
Between gentlemen and whores
The three of us were not talking
As the warm smoke filled our lungs
She crooked a red lacquered finger
And purred in her dear German tongue
Oh, yeah, I could speak her language
In many more ways than one
But I only had the Blues tonight
When all was said and done
She seemed to understand
Then rose and bid me good night
I listened to her click her heels
Long after she left my sight
I felt like old Herr Beethoven
Slowly going deaf
In his rooms in Old Vienna
When her measured steps had left
I too had been told I was going blind
Just a few weeks ago
And I had decided to live and see it all
Until I could see no more
But night was always calling me
Wordlessly sharing my smokes
But there was no sense in waiting until dawn
Or for any other ironic jokes
So I played another chorus of those nighttime Blues
My cage with sixteen bars
One more creature in the Tiergarten
Imprisoned, lost under the stars
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by T.C Leonard
"Chasing Hypnos From His Altar"
The mantle clock is magnified
And keeps beat to the tune
Of the love song of the crickets
by Larry Terry
FRUSTRATION
I am tired, but I cannot sleep;
I close my eyes, I even count sheep.
My body is aching; I need a nap;
NIGHTTIME BLUES
Baby, Baby, Baby
I got them old Nighttime Blues
The same ones I always get
When I get started missin' you
It's
Scenes from the Diner
The nighthawks sit in somber
Sippin' coffee from their cups
Invigoratin', buzzin', makin' lovin'
Tonight, Lord, I say a prayer to you.
Before I lay my head down to sleep.
While I try to promise to myself, That I dare not
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Poetry: Nighttime blues
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