take refuge

take refuge in the blues
when the sadness comes without permission
the minor chords, the slow repetition, the cigarette voice,
the dank barely lit bars & the pain drawn out through the synergy of
it all.

take refuge in the rock
when excitement is willingly invited
when the hormones race in the summer heat,
the pumped up psyche of your favorite sports event, the speeding in a car down a wide open road, the thrill of the fight outside your favorite bar,
the first kiss, the passion that comes with
accepting nothing & delivering all that you want to yourself on your
own.

take refuge in the jazz when perplexed or interested in
pondering,
when the rhythmic beats or painful croon just won’t do,
the meandering notes dancing upon the brain stem & sliding down the spine with
your head buried in a book & consuming the words & images of others,
all part of a bombardment of stimuli
bringing only fresh spontaneity
throughout.

take refuge in rap & the rebellion that ensues within the mind
when the heart steps along the side of the beat meshing
with the metaphors painted in rhyme---
equipped with the minimalist essentials of words culminating mass
illustrations giving feel to actions outside the self
now brought deep
within.

take refuge in classical when exhausted from the day’s strain,
the strings & winds may coax the veins into a calm well deserved or
conversely,
the tempo of the timpani, the beating of the drums & shrills of the higher octaves
will shock us alert to the day’s needs
like sunlight baring down in one’s face---
either way, the whole room is filled with an eruption of
sound.