APOCALYPTIC JAZZ

The sky is falling in transparent fragments
During an encore
By a band saturated
In sweat and saliva
Crying out for redemption
In accented brass tones
Their eyes bulge
Their veins pump
Like shotguns
In vigilance

They all wonder
When will be
Their last note
Their last breath
Their last request

Inside this vacancy
As the sun hold on
With its last rays
Competing
With the clouds
Shipped in like cargo
Impaling the moon’s romantics

Windows shatter
The earth quakes
Along with the bass
The drummer’s eyelids
Refusing to shut
Just yet
As the snare ticks

Lovers long for the last touch
The others embrace the one close
Or themselves
Huddled under tables
(in front of the stage)
Some cry
Others just accept
High pitch, solo driven
Margin expanding
Resolutions
At the gates
To implode

Fingers grip the valves
Clutching the last few moments
Bleed
Knuckles stretch straight
Cymbals crash in echoes
Within the unforgiving
Foundations sink
And no one is ready
To leave their regrets
Drowned in boos
Rising an octave

by Jason Jepson