LEAVE ME THE BLUES

LEAVE ME THE BLUES

I am Cinderella.

Leave me in darkness at the end of the ball 

Stumbling and bumbling my way through the hall.

Take away the sparkling slippers, in the end they are only shoes,

But bring me a harmonica and leave me the blues

Bring me some percussion, a barreling piano to whet my appetite,

A standing upright bass to see me through the night,

Take away the pumpkin coach, no one likes the way I drive

Lead me like a horse to water, like a bee unto his hive.

A snare drum would be mighty nice,

A tasty sort of sacrifice,

To light my fire and fuse.

Give me Billie Holiday,

Give me Sarah Vaughan.

Or Nina Simone to likely get her groove on..

A torch song notebook its pages to peruse,

Bring me my harmonica and leave me the blues.

I am Cinderella,

Leave me in darkness, with Ray Charles and B.B. King,

Bring to me my own Lucille and I'll try to make it sing.

Take away the wicked stepsisters and their rooms of viscous bile,

Put your hand so light in mine and walk this ambling mile.

Mesmerize and tantalize, let me laugh again and smile.

The glamorous life of the prince's ball, you know I'd never choose.

Just bring me my harmonica and leave me the blues.

Bring me the jazzy velvet fog of Mr. Mel Torme,

No one sings a jazz song like Mel did in his day.

And Ella Fitzgerald will arise and lead the way.

I cannot dance in these sparkling slippers,

in the end it's true they are only shoes,

Bring me my harmonica and leave me the blues.

-Bruce Potts

Copyright 2021

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

A note: The blues in this poem is meant to be a fluid term and some of my choices were really more jazz artists than blues artists. I had this idea in my head tor a poem about depression and the blues as a genre was more relevant to that than jazz. But I guess my knowledge of jazz performers was greater than that of blues performers.